Saudi inflation falls to 1.8% in January

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate recorded a fall of 0.3 percent on a monthly basis, dropping to 1.8 percent in January 2026 from 2.1 percent in December 2025. The annual inflation rate also recorded a drop of 0.2 percent when it fell to 1.8 percent from 2 percent in January 2025, according to the statistical report released on Sunday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).The annual inflation rate is driven by a 4.2 percent increase in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices, in addition to a 1.5 percent increase in transportation costs and one percent increase in restaurant and accommodation services.The authority explained that residential rents were the most significant driver of inflation, with actual rents rising by 5.2 percent year-on-year. Prices for passenger transport services also increased by 6 percent while food and beverage prices rose by 1 percent.Personal care and other goods and services saw a 7.9 percent increase, driven by more than 28 percent rise in jewelry and watch prices. Insurance and financial services rose by 3.3 percent and recreation, sports, and culture by 2.3 percent, fueled by a 3.7 percent increase in holiday prices. Education prices rose by 1.6 percent, and food and beverages by 0.2 percent. Conversely, prices for furniture and household appliances fell by 0.3 percent and healthcare by 0.1 percent. On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent in January 2026 compared to December 2025, supported by a 0.5 percent increase in housing, water, electricity, and fuel prices, driven by a 0.5 percent rise in actual housing rents. The transportation sector also saw a 0.2 percent monthly increase, and restaurants rose by 1 percent. Conversely, food and beverage prices fell by 0.6 percent and the communications and information sector declined by 0.1percent. Prices for education services, health, furniture, household appliances and routine home maintenance, and tobacco remained relatively unchanged in January 2026. The GASTAT report revealed that the wholesale price index in the Kingdom reached 2.9 percent during January 2026 on an annual basis, compared to the same month of 2025. This increase is mainly attributed to the rise in prices of other transportable goods. Prices of other transportable goods, excluding metal products, machinery, and equipment, rose by 4.9 percent in January 2026 compared to January 2025. This increase was driven by a 3.9 percent rise in refined petroleum product prices and an 18.4 percent increase in basic chemical prices. Prices of agricultural and fishing products also rose by 4.2 percent, due to a 5.8 percent increase in agricultural product prices and a 1.1 percent increase in the prices of live animals and animal products. The report noted that prices for metal products, machinery, and equipment rose by 1.2 percent due to a 5.6 percent increase in basic metal prices and a 3.3 percent increase in prices for manufactured metal products. Prices for food products, beverages, tobacco, and textiles also rose by 0.3 percent driven by a 0.7 percent increase in prices for grain mill products, starch, and other food products, as well as a 1.7 percent increase in prices for leather, leather products, and footwear. Conversely, prices for raw materials and minerals fell by 0.1 percent due to a 0.1percent decrease in prices for stones and sand. On a monthly basis, the wholesale price index recorded an increase of 1.5 percent during January compared to December 2025, influenced by the rise in prices of refined petroleum products, basic chemicals, agricultural and fishing products, food products, beverages, tobacco and textiles, while the prices of raw materials and metals witnessed a slight decrease of 0.1 percent. This was the result of the decrease in prices of transport equipment by 0.2 percent and the decrease in prices of used machinery for general purposes by 0.3 percent while the prices of raw materials and metals remained stable and did not record any significant relative change during January 2026.