Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate eased to 2.7 percent in March from 3 percent in February, driven mainly by an increase in rental prices.
Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose 7.4 percent from a year earlier.
Actual housing rents increased 8.7 percent in March 2023 compared to the previous year, driven by a 22 percent increase in apartment rental prices. The rise in this category had a significant impact on the increase in annual inflation due to its weight in the index of 21 percent.
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Food prices, which were the main driver of inflation for most of 2022, rose 2.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, while the restaurants and hotels sectors recorded a rise of 6.3 percent.
But Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics said consumer prices rose 0.1 percent from February, with housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rising 0.4 percent driven by an increase in rental costs.
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