RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's inflation rose to 3.3% year-on-year in December 2022, according to recent data by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). Inflation is measured by the change percentage in the cost of living between the current period and the corresponding period of the previous year. The authority attributed the rise in the inflation rate during December, on an annual basis, to the increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 5.9 percent and the prices of food and beverages by 4.2 percent. The CPI reflects price changes of a fixed basket of goods and services that includes 490 items. The items were chosen based on the results of the Household Expenditure and Income Survey conducted in 2018. The increase in the segment of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels was affected by the increase of 6.8 percent in rental prices paid for housing, which in turn was affected by the increase in apartment rental prices by 18.1 percent. The food and beverages segment was affected by the increase in food prices by 4.3 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in the prices of meat and poultry by 5.9 percent. The inflation rate for the last month recorded a marginal increase of 0.3 percent compared to December 2022. The monthly inflation index was affected by the increase in the segment of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels by 0.9 percent, which in turn was affected by the increase in rental prices paid for housing by 1.1 percent, according to the GASTAT statement. The average annual inflation of consumer prices in Saudi Arabia reached 2.5 percent for 2022, compared to the annual average for 2021.
