Saudi-Arabien Verbraucherpreise

The annual inflation rate in Saudi Arabia edged lower to 1.9% in December 2024, down from a fifteen-month high of 2% in November. Although housing and utilities prices rose at a slightly slower pace of 8.9% compared to 9.1% in November, they remained elevated. This, coupled with a sharper increase in food and beverage prices (0.8% vs. 0.3%), limited any significant easing. Meanwhile, several sub-indexes remained in deflation, including clothing and footwear (-2.2% vs. -2.3%), health (-1.1% vs. -1.3%), transport (unchanged at -2.5%), communication (unchanged at -1.5%), and recreation and culture (-1.6% vs. -1.1%). On a monthly basis, the CPI was unchanged, following a 0.3% increase in the prior period. For the full year, the average consumer inflation rate stood at 1.7%, primarily driven by sharp annual increases in the costs of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, as well as food and beverages.