oil sectors, the report said. The report gave an account on the unprecedented increase of commodities and foodstuffs prices in several developing economies due to the strong growth of the international economy over the last two years. The report quoted a specialized index institution as estimating the increase of foodstuffs prices at 43 percent over the last 12 months. Incentive policies adopted by some industrialized countries to produce energy alternatives by using some foodstuffs have a role in this increase, the report said. The Saudi economy was not an exception of such developments, the report said, adding that it has scored high growth rates in the domestic demand accompanied by an obvious increase in the record cost of living. The report cited figures by the General Statistics Authority for the year 2006 saying that the cost was estimated at 2.2 percent in 2006 and 3.8 percent in July 2007. The report said the new figures, though running in the expected range of increase, trigger caution and concern. It gave a glimpse of the history of inflation in the Kingdom over the last few decades, showing stable rates of inflation. --More
