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Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation up 6.2% in June

Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation up 6.2% in June
Consumer prices still reflect the increase of the value-added tax (VAT)

Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up 6.2% in June 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, mainly driven by higher prices of transport as well as food and beverages, according to official data.

The inflation rate in June was also higher on a monthly basis compared to May, when it registered 5.7%, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) noted.

Consumer prices still reflect the increase of the value-added tax (VAT) from 5% to 15% that was implemented in July 2020.

Transport prices surged 22.6% in June, being important in the Saudi consumer basket with a weight of 13% of the CPI.

Without transport prices, Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate would have reached 3.4% in June, according to GaStat.

Another key basket that drove the CPI in June was food and beverages, which rose by 8.1%,

Tobacco prices rose 12.3% last month, communication services prices added 13.2%, while prices of furniture, household equipment, and household Maintenance increased by 7.9%.

Meanwhile, the education basket prices decreased 9.1% annually in June, while the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels were down 2.3%.

The CPI remained relatively stable month-on-month (MoM) in June after rising by 0.2% compared to May, affected by a rise of 1.8% in transport prices.