#Saudi inflation up in January for second consecutive month - Reuters

Saudi inflation up in January for second consecutive month - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index rose 0.4% in January from a year earlier, official data showed on Tuesday, the second consecutive month of positive inflation after it was in negative territory for most of last year.

Hikes in prices at restaurants and hotels, education, and healthcare, boosted the index, data from the General Authority for Statistics showed.

Prices for food and beverages, which account for nearly 20% of the index basket, rose 2.2%, while prices for housing and utilities, which account for around 25% of the basket, decreased 3.3% - a lower deflationary pace than in previous months. 


“This appears to reflect the recent bottoming out in the property market, which is feeding through into rents declining at a slower pace,” Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics said in a note.