Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Consumer price index (CPI) went up 0.8% in October this year, compared to the same month in 2020, according to official data on Monday.
The CPI, which measures the inflation rate of the country, also inched up 0.2% in October compared to 0.6% in September 2021.
The Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) attributed the annual rise in the Kingdom’s CPI to a 6.4% increase in prices of the transport basket, as well as a 1.4% rise in food and beverages prices in October.
GaStat also said the main reason behind the monthly rise in the CPI was a 3.9% increase in education prices.
Transport prices meanwhile decreased, on a monthly basis, by 0.5% in October compared to September.
Saudi Arabia’s Wholesale Prices
As for the wholesale price index (WPI), GaStat announced a rise of 11.9% in October 2021 compared to the same month in the previous year.
Other transportable goods surged by 20.5% last October, reflecting on the Saudi WPI. The increase in the index was mainly because of a 67.8% leap in basic chemicals prices, in addition to a rise of 27.2% in the refined petroleum products prices, which have a weight in the index.
Month-on-month (MoM), wholesale prices were stable in October compared to September 2021, inching up by 0.1% due to a rise of 0.2% in the prices of metal products, machinery, and equipment.