GASTAT: Consumer Price Index (CPI) Decreases and Annual Index Rises in October,2018

General Authority for Statistics GASTAT released its monthly report of CPI in Saudi Arabia for October. The report was published on its official website www.stats.gov.sa . The Consumer Price Index CPI decreased 0.3% in October compared to the previous month (September 2018).

GASTAT report showed that the Consumer Price Index CPI in Saudi Arabia decreased to (106.8) Index Points in October from (107.1) in September of 2018 with 0.3% change.

On the other hand, the report attributed the monthly decline of the index to the declines of the eight sections composing it, which are: housing, water, electricity and gas section with 0.8% , home furnishing and equipment section with 0.4%, clothing and shoes section with 0.3%, transportation section with 0.3%, personal goods and services section with 0.2%, health section with 0.1%, culture and entertainment section with 0.1%, and finally restaurants and hotels sections with 0.1%.

In contrast, two of the main sections witnessed an increase, which are: food and beverages section with 0.2% and tobacco section with 0.1%. Telecommunication and education sections remained stable with no change.

The year-over-year (YOY) of CPI registered an increase of 2.4% in October 2018 compared to the same month last year reaching (106.8) in October 2018 compared to (104.3) in October 2017.

The ten sections composing the CPI contributed to year-over-year increase, which are: transportation section 11.5%, tobacco 10.2%, restaurants and hotels 8.7%, food and beverages 7.3%, health 4.0%, culture and entertainment 3.2%, home furnishing and equipment 2.8%, telecommunication 1.4%, education 0.2%, personal goods and services 0.1%.

On the other hand, two of the main sections witnessed a decline, which are: clothing and shoes section with 5.0% as well as housing, water, electricity and gas section with 3.6%.