Saudi Arabia: Inflation inches up in September

Consumer prices fell 0.2% over the previous month in September, following August’s 0.1% decrease. The decline was mainly due to lower prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels as well as for recreation and culture. Education, however, recorded a sizeable gain in September.

In September, inflation inched down to 2.1% from August’s 2.2%. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in consumer prices increased from 1.3% in August to 1.5% in September, the highest level since March 2017.

Saudi Arabia Inflation Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants expect inflation to average 2.3% in 2019, which is unchanged from last month’s projection. The panel sees inflation averaging 2.4% in 2020.