Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index (CPI) went up by 0.4% in July this year compared to the same month in 2020, backed by the fading effect of the increase in the value-added tax (VAT) from 5% to 15% that was implemented in July 2020.
The VAT “does not affect the annual change of the CPI anymore,” the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) said on Sunday.
The higher inflation rate was mainly attributed to a 7.8% increase in prices of transport as well as a rise of 1.2% in food and beverages prices.
Transport prices have high importance in the Saudi consumer basket, with a weight accounting for 13% of the CPI.
Tobacco prices also posted an annual increase of 1.2% due to a 1.9% rise in cigarettes prices in the Kingdom. In addition, communication services prices increased by 2.7% in July.
On the other hand, prices of education services in Saudi Arabia decreased by 7.8% annually. Prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels also declined by 3.6% in July.
Month-on-month, (MoM), Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate was stable in July as the CPI went up 0.2% compared to June.
The monthly inflation rate was affected by 1.4% higher education prices, in addition to a rise of 0.5% in the food and beverages basket.
Meanwhile, prices of transport, health, furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance did not register any significant changes in July this year.
