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Saudi Inflation Ticks up for Second Month in Row

A Saudi woman wearing protective gloves shops at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/Files
A Saudi woman wearing protective gloves shops at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/Files
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Saudi Inflation Ticks up for Second Month in Row

A Saudi woman wearing protective gloves shops at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/Files
A Saudi woman wearing protective gloves shops at a supermarket, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/Files

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation inched up to 3.4% in January from 3.3% a month earlier as higher housing expenses continued to drive up living costs, government data showed on Wednesday.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with a 25.5% weight of the consumer basket, the largest category, rose 6.6% from a year earlier.

"Actual rents for housing increased by 7.7% in January 2023, reflecting the increase in rents for apartments of 19.3%," the country's General Authority for Statistics said.

Food and beverage prices, which were the main driver of inflation during much of 2022, rose 4.2% from a year earlier.

Compared to December, consumer prices rose 0.2%, the statistics agency said.

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Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
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Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 

Indonesia and Singapore signed initial deals on Friday to develop cross-border trade in low carbon electricity and collaborate on carbon capture and storage, ministers from both countries said in Jakarta.

The electricity deal reaffirmed an earlier agreement to export solar power from Indonesia to Singapore, with a group of companies planning to build plants and grid infrastructure to generate and transmit the power.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries says they will aim to draw up policies, regulatory frameworks and business arrangements that will enable Indonesian power to be delivered to Singapore.

Indonesia expects to export 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon power by 2035, according to a presentation slide shown by Indonesia's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

In another MoU, the two countries said they would look into drawing up a legally binding agreement for carbon capture and storage that would allow cross-border projects to go ahead.

If successful, it will be the first such project in Asia, said Singapore government minister Tan See Leng.

Energy firms BP, ExxonMobil, and Indonesia's state company Pertamina are already developing CCS projects in Indonesia.

With its depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers capable of storing hundreds of gigatons of CO2, Indonesia has allowed CCS operators to set aside 30% of their storage capacity for carbon captured in other countries.

The two countries also signed a deal for the development of sustainable industrial zones on several Indonesian islands near Singapore, including Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

Bahlil said the deals could bring in more than $10 billion of investment from the manufacturing of solar panels, the development of CCS projects and potential investment in industrial estates.