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Government data showed on Sunday that the annual inflation rate in Saudi Arabia rose to 3.3 percent in December from 2.9 percent in November, with prices rising again, mainly driven by housing costs.
The General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia said that prices jumped 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in December, compared to a monthly increase of 0.1 percent in November.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which account for 25.5 percent of the consumer price basket, rose 5.9 percent year-on-year and 0.9 percent compared to November.
The authority indicated that the increase comes as a result of an increase in housing rents by 1.1 percent.
Food and beverage prices, which were the main driver of inflation for many times last year, fell 0.1% month-on-month, but were still 4.2% higher than in December 2021.
The authority said in a separate statement: The annual consumer price index for 2022 increased by 2.5 percent compared to 2021, mainly affected by an increase in food and beverage prices by 3.7 percent, and transportation prices by 4.1 percent due to their weight in the index.
She added that the housing category increased by 1.8 percent in 2022 due to an increase in housing rents by 2.0 percent.
The Ministry of Finance had said in the 2023 budget statement that it expected the inflation rate to average 2.6 percent at the end of 2022.
