RIYADH — The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Saudi Arabia has increased to 2.8% in May 2023, compared to the same month in 2022. It was also higher than the 2.7% increase estimated for April 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The rise in CPI was due to the increase witnessed in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 8.4%, and food and beverages by 0.9%. GASTAT noted that the rent prices were the main driver of inflation in May 2023, compared to May 2022, due to its relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket with a weight of 21.0%. The Consumer Price Index report issued by the authority for May 2023 showed that actual rents of housing in Saudi Arabia increased by 9.9%, reflecting the increase in rents for apartments by 23.7%. Moreover, the prices of food and beverages recorded an increase of 0.9%, which was affected by the rise in prices of the meat and poultry by 2.4%, as well as the prices of milk and dairy products including the eggs by 8.5%. As for transportation, the sector recorded a price increase of 1.6%, due to the increase in vehicle prices by 1.2%. The GASTAT report indicated that restaurants and hotels witnessed an increase of 5.0%, as a result of a 5.2% rise in the prices of catering services. The education section recorded an increase of 3.0%, as a result of a 4.5% rise in pre-primary and primary education fees. The entertainment and culture sector recorded an increase of 3.8%, due to a 14.1% increase in prices of tourist trips (holiday packages). Sectors that witnessed a drop in prices included furnishings, household equipment & maintenance, which fell by 2.0%, affected by a decrease of 4.9% in the prices of furniture and furnishings, carpets and other floor coverings. Prices of clothes and shoes decreased by 2.2%, due to a 3.3% decrease in the ready-made garments prices Compared with April 2023, the prices recorded a slight increase of 0.2% in May. This is due to the fact that the monthly inflation index was affected by the increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels – 0.4%, which in turn was affected by an increase of 0.4% in actual rental prices. GASTAT said the food and beverages sector increased by 0.1% compared to April 2023, transportation by 0.5%, personal goods and services by 0.5%, recreation & culture prices by 0.5%, and healthcare by 0.1%. In contrast, prices of furnishings, household equipment & maintenance decreased by 0.1%, prices of communications decreased by 0.2%, clothing and footwear by 0.8%, and restaurants and hotels by 0.3%. GASTAT revealed that the prices of education and tobacco did not witness any significant change in May 2023.
