For the second month, Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate decreased in November to 2.9 percent.
According to data released on Thursday by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat)., this slowdown happened despite the ongoing increase in residential rental prices.
The annual inflation rate in Saudi Arabia began to slow down last October to 3 percent, for the first time since May. This is after reaching its peak this year in September at 3.1 percent.
Every month, the inflation rate in November increased slightly by 0.1 percent compared to October
Residential rental prices also increased by 1.6 percent, while prices for food, beverages, transportation, entertainment, and communications declined monthly.
Muhammad Al-Jadaan, the Saudi Finance Minister, predicted in previous statements that the inflation rate in the Kingdom during the current year would range between 2.1 and 2.3 percent.
According to figures released last October by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, the third quarter of the Kingdom’s fiscal year saw an 8.6 percent annual economic growth rate.
The authority attributed the growth of gross domestic product to the development of oil activities by 14.5 percent annually and non-oil activities by 5.6 percent.
On Wednesday, the Saudi Central Bank decided to raise the rate of the Repurchase Agreement (Repo) by 50 basis points (0.5%) to 5%, and the speed of the Reverse Repurchase Agreement (Reverse Repo) by 50 basis points to 4.5%.
The bank said the decision is in line with the central bank’s objectives of maintaining monetary stability and supporting financial stability.
The Saudi government target an average inflation rate of 2.6% by the end of 2022.
In October, Saudi Arabia’s inflation slowed down to 3% in October, and the drop in inflation rate was seen for the first time since May 2021, according to data released by the General Authority for Statistics.
