Riyadh – Mubasher: The general wholesale price index in Saudi Arabia fell 1.2% in August on a year-on-year basis, data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Wednesday showed.

The drop was mainly due to declines in four groups, led by ores and minerals, which retreated 9% on the back of a similar drop in stones and sand, followed by agriculture and fishery products which lost 1.4% after fish and other fishing products shed 8.9% and live animals and animal products declined 7.1%.

Other goods were down 3.3%, after wooden products and furniture retreated 4.3% each. In addition, the metal products, machinery, and equipment segment declined 2.3%.

On the other hand, the food products, beverages, tobacco, and textiles segment grew 5.4% after tobacco products surged 97%, followed by beverages with 43.6%.

Month-on-month, the wholesale price index fell by 0.4% after agriculture and fishery products declined 1.5%. Other goods declined 0.4%, while ores and minerals, metal products, and food products, beverages, tobacco, and textiles, shed 0.3% each.

Earlier on Wednesday, GASTAT reported that cost of living index, an inflation measure, was down 0.1% in August, compared to same period in 2016, registering a decline for the eighth month in a row.

In July, Saudi Arabia’s wholesale price index fell 1.4% year-on-year.