Saudi Arabia: Inflation moderates sharply in December

Consumer prices fell 0.3% over the previous month in December, following November’s 0.3% decline. The drop was mainly due to lower prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels as well as for food and beverages.

In December, inflation fell from November’s eight-month high of 2.8% to 2.2%. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in consumer prices increased from 2.2% in November to 2.5% in December, reaching the highest level in over four years.

Saudi Arabia Inflation Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants expect inflation to average 2.0% in 2019, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s projection. The panel sees inflation averaging 2.2% in 2020.