Annual inflation in Saudi Arabia fell for a fourth month in February to 6.9 percent, the lowest rate in more than a year, as inflationary pressures ease on lower commodity prices and a slowdown in local demand. Inflation in the world's top oil exporter, which had peaked last year at more than 11 percent in July, fell from 7.9 percent in January, the Kingdom's Central Department of Statistics said on its website Wednesday. The Saudi cost of living index rose to 120.6 points on Feb. 28 compared with 112.8 points a year earlier, the data showed. The month-on-month rise in prices was 0.08 percent. “We have lower demand, lower output, a slowdown in money supply's growth and food prices abroad are beginning to decline although not substantially,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at SABB bank, HSBC's Saudi affiliate. Annual inflation in February was the lowest since December 2007, when prices rose at their fastest pace in at least 25 years. The fall is magnified by the fact that we are comparing to 2008, which saw a relatively-abnormal surge in inflation,” he added. Saudi inflation galloped to a peak of 11.1 percent in July, the same month oil prices hit highs above $147 a barrel before tumbling to less than a third of that level in the following seven months.
