Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi wholesale price index (WPI) climbed by 5.6% in August 2020 on a yearly basis, slightly higher than the previous month’s rate of 5.1%.

The rise of the index is owed to higher prices of metal products, machinery and equipment by 13.3%, in addition to an overall impact of the value-added tax (VAT) hike from 5% to 15% in July, official data showed on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the lower prices of refined petroleum products, down 17.5% annually, were the most offsetting factor on the wholesale price inflation.

The agricultural and fishery products, up 15%, registered the largest increase in wholesale prices in the past twelve months through August.

Month-month (MoM), the WPI levelled up by 0.6%, helped by higher prices of basic chemicals by 7.2%, which contributed the most to the increase in average prices of other transportable goods by 0.9%.