Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate increased 2.5 percent in April, following energy price hikes and implementation of the value-added tax (VAT), the latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GAS) showed.
The cost of living index leveled up to 107.7 points in April 2018, compared to 105 points in the same month last year.
The GAS last month changed the base year for the consumer price index to 2013 from 2007 and adjusted the basket of goods and services.
|
Saudi Inflation Rate |
|
|
Month |
Inflation rate* |
|
January 2017 |
(0.6%) |
|
February |
(0.6%) |
|
March |
(0.7%) |
|
April |
(0.7%) |
|
May |
(0.8%) |
|
June |
(0.5%) |
|
July |
(0.8%) |
|
August |
(0.8%) |
|
September |
(0.8%) |
|
October |
(1.2%) |
|
November |
(1.7%) |
|
December |
(1.1%) |
|
January 2018 |
+3.0% |
|
February |
+2.9% |
|
March |
+2.8% |
|
April |
+2.5% |
*Updated for base year 2013
Prices of nine main groups in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket increased, with tobacco surging 54.1 percent in April.
Three groups saw decrease, led by apparel & footwear, which fell 8.3 percent.
The following table shows the most important changes in the main groups in the CPI between April 2017 and 2018:
|
CPI YoY comparison (April 2017/2018) |
|
|
Main Groups |
Variation (%) |
|
Tobacco* |
+54.1% |
|
Transportation |
+10.4% |
|
Hotels & Restaurants |
+7.2% |
|
Food & Beverages |
+5.6% |
|
Healthcare |
+3.6% |
|
Telecommunications |
+1.1% |
|
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuel |
+0.5% |
|
Education |
+0.5% |
|
Home Furniture & Maintenance |
+0.2% |
|
Goods & various services |
(0.3%) |
|
Entertainment & culture |
(0.5%) |
|
Apparel & Footwear |
(8.3%) |
* The increase is due to applying selective tax on tobacco
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