Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate increased during November by 1.1% on an annual basis, and 0.2% in the month of October.
The inflation rate continues to rise for the twenty-third consecutive month, “the highest on an annual basis since last June.”
The General Authority for Statistics said that the annual increase is due to an increase in transport prices by 5.7%, due to the increase in gasoline prices by 47.9%.
Saudi inflation
The rise in this section had a significant impact on the rise in annual inflation due to its weight in the index.
In addition, on an annual basis, food and beverage prices increased by 1.6%, telecommunications by 1.4%, education by 4.8%, restaurants and hotels by 1.8%, and leisure and tourism by 2.3%.
The prices of clothes and shoes decreased by 1.8%. The housing, water, electricity and gas section also recorded a decrease of 1.6%, affected by a decrease in housing rents by 2%.
Saudi Arabia expects the inflation rate to decline during 2021 to reach 2.9%, compared to 3.7% in 2020 and to continue to decline next year to 2%. At the same time, International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects inflation in the kingdom to reach 3.7% this year.
Budget surplus
In a separate context, the Saudi Cabinet approved, on Sunday, the Kingdom’s general budget for the fiscal year 2022, with revenues of 1045 billion riyals, and expenditures of 955 billion riyals.
With this budget, Saudi Arabia aims to achieve a financial surplus for the first time in eight years, at 90 billion riyals in 2022. The kingdom plans to take advantage of the rise in oil prices in conjunction with the relative recovery from the pandemic.
According to the budget statement, the real GDP growth is expected to reach 7.4% in 2022. This is compared to 2.9% for the current year.
“We are determined to continue implementing the economic initiatives and reforms, to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and to continuously improve the quality of life,” the Saudi cabinet said.
