Housing, water, electricity costs rise 4.4 percent

JEDDAH: The cost of housing, water, electricity, gas and other energy sources rose 4.4 percent in November 2015 compared to the same month last year.
This is according to a monthly report issued by the Central Department of Statistics and Information, which indicated a rise across 11 main areas on the cost of living index, including a 5.1 percent increase in clothing and shoes and a 5.4 percent rise in education expenses.
Health costs increased 2.5 percent, transportation by 2.3 percent, household furniture and maintenance by 2 percent, recreation and culture by 1.9 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 1.8 percent, tobacco by 1.5 percent, and food and beverages by 0.8 percent.
Telecommunications also saw an increase of 0.6 percent. The general cost of living index in the Kingdom increased by 0.1 percent during November, compared to the month before.
The monthly report also indicates the index increased from 134.4 points in October 2015 to 134.4 points in November 2015. In November 2014, the index was at 131.4 points, thus indicating a monthly increase of 0.1 percent and an annual increase of 2.3 percent.
The report correlated the monthly increase in the cost of living index to monthly increases in costs across six main areas, namely clothing and shoes by 1.1 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.9 percent, household furniture and maintenance by 0.5 percent, recreation and culture by 0.4 percent, health by 0.3 percent and housing, water, electricity, gas and other energy sources by 0.1 percent.
Four main areas of the index saw a decline. These are telecommunications by 0.6 percent, transportation by 0.2 percent, food and drinks by 0.1 percent, and restaurants and hotels by 0.1 percent. Tobacco and education remained steady.