Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi cost of living index (inflation) shed 0.2% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) on Monday said.

Year-on-year, tobacco section surged 99.8%, followed by education with 2.7%, communication with 1.4%, and miscellaneous goods & services with 0.5%, the SAMA added.

On the flipside, recreation and culture, clothing and footwear, food and beverages, transport, furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, restaurants and hotels, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, and health sections fell 2.8%, 2%, 1.7%, 1.6%, 1.2%, 1.2%, 0.3%, and 0.1%, respectively.

Tobacco section impacted on inflation ration during Q3-17 by 41.4%, followed by food and beverages with 21.6%.

Quarter-on-quarter, the country’s inflation inched up 0.6%.