Annual Saudi Inflation Rate Rises 2.7% in July

Prices of food and beverages rise in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prices of food and beverages rise in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Annual Saudi Inflation Rate Rises 2.7% in July

Prices of food and beverages rise in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Prices of food and beverages rise in Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released on Monday the results of the Saudi Consumer Price Index and Wholesale Price Index for July 2022.

On its official website, GASTAT said that the consumer price index rose 2.7% in July from a year earlier, increasing from 2.3% in June.

The main driver of CPI inflation was a 3.9% increase in prices of food and beverages and 3.6% in transport mainly due to a 4.2% increase in the prices of vehicles.

Food and beverage prices increased by 3.9%, mainly due to food prices (4.2%), and meat prices (5.1%).

The prices of personal goods and services increased by 2.1%, mainly impacted by a 22.0% price rise in wedding hall rentals.

Moreover and due to the increase in prices of catering services by 6.3%, the prices in restaurants and hotels increased by 6.3%.

Education increased by 5.7%, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices increased by 2.0%, as a result of the increase in housing rentals by 2.1%.

The general wholesale price index for the month of July 2022 increased by 6.8%, compared to 2021. The increase came mainly due to a 5% increase in the price of metal products, machinery, and equipment.



Turkish Annual Inflation Falls More Than Expected to 44.38%

A shopkeeper uses his mobile phone as he waits for customers at a popular middle-class shopping district in Istanbul, Türkiye March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File photo
A shopkeeper uses his mobile phone as he waits for customers at a popular middle-class shopping district in Istanbul, Türkiye March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File photo
TT

Turkish Annual Inflation Falls More Than Expected to 44.38%

A shopkeeper uses his mobile phone as he waits for customers at a popular middle-class shopping district in Istanbul, Türkiye March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File photo
A shopkeeper uses his mobile phone as he waits for customers at a popular middle-class shopping district in Istanbul, Türkiye March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File photo

Turkish annual consumer price inflation fell more than expected to 44.38% in December, official data showed on Friday, with education, housing and restaurant prices leading the rise.

Month on month, inflation was 1.03%, the Turkish Statistical Institute said, compared with 2.24% in November. Annual consumer price inflation (CPI) was 47.09% in November.

Furniture prices rose 2.78% from the previous month, data showed, while telecoms-related prices gained by 1.82%.

In a Reuters poll, the annual inflation rate was expected to fall to 45.2%, with the monthly figure seen at 1.61%, owing to easing food price inflation and a limited rise in energy prices.

The latest inflation print was close to the central bank's midpoint prediction of 44% for the end of 2024.

The bank, having kept its main interest rate steady at 50% since March, launched an easing cycle last week, cutting the policy rate by 250 basis points to 47.5%.

The bank said it will set policy "prudently" meeting by meeting with a focus on the inflation outlook while responding to any expected "significant and persistent deterioration".

The Turkish lira was little changed after the data at 35.3850 to the dollar, hovering around the record lows.

The domestic producer price index was up 0.4% month on month in December for an annual rise of 28.52%, the data showed.