#Saudi inflation steady at 2.7% in April, driven by housing | Reuters

Saudi inflation steady at 2.7% in April, driven by housing | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate was 2.7% in April, unchanged from the previous month, driven mostly by housing rental costs, government data released on Monday showed.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose by 8.1% from a year earlier, while the food and beverage sector - the leading driver for inflation during much of 2022 - rose by 1.0%, the data from the General Authority for Statistics showed.

Overall rents for housing grew 9.6% in April 2023. Apartment rents gained 22.2% following a similar rise in March.

Within the food sector, milk, milk products and eggs rose by almost 11%.

Consumer prices were up 0.4% in April from March, the statistics authority said.

The inflation outlook for the Gulf countries is muted compared to that expected in many major economies, a Reuters poll found.

For the full year, it forecast the region's inflation would be between 2.1% and 3.3% and decrease further in 2024.