Saudi Arabia: Inflation picks up in May from the prior month
Latest reading: Consumer prices increased 1.8% on a year-on-year basis in May, following a 1.7% rise in the prior month.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.7% in annual terms vs +0.6% in April), clothing and footwear (-0.1% vs -0.3% in April), transport (+1.5% vs +1.0% in April) and recreation and entertainment (+2.6% vs +1.8% in April). In contrast, price pressures reduced for housing and utilities in May (+3.7% vs +3.8% in April).
Lastly, consumer prices were up 0.20% in May on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.24% increase in the previous month.