Food prices lift Saudi inflation to 5.7 percent in January, year-on-year

RIYADH: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Saudi Arabia increased 5.7 percent in January 2021 compared to the same month last year 2020 and 3.5 percent compared to last December, according to data issued Tuesday by the General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).

The CPI index still reflects an increase in value-added tax from 5 percent to 15 percent, which began to be applied in July 2020, GaStat stated.

GaStat attributed the increase in inflation on an annual basis to an increase in the prices of food and beverages by 12.3 percent and those of transport by 9.6 percent. Food prices are the largest influence in the increase in inflation in January 2021 compared to January 2020.

The increase recorded by the food and beverage division was affected by the rise in food prices by 12.6 percent, which in turn was affected by a rise in the prices of meat and poultry by 14.4 percent and the prices of vegetables by 18.2 percent.

The communications division index increased by 13.8 percent, affected by the 16.3 percent increase in the prices of telephone and fax services. The transportation division recorded an increase of 9.6 percent, due to the increase in vehicle purchase prices by 11.1 percent, according to GaStat.

The authority also reported that the monthly inflation index was affected by the rise in the transport section by 2 percent, which in turn was affected by the rise in operating prices of personal transport equipment by 5.5 percent. The 1.6 percent increase in the communications section was affected by the 2.3 percent increase in the prices of telephone and fax services.