RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate dropped to 1.7 percent in September, down from 2 percent in August, due to stable prices in all sectors, as per official data. The latest data released by the General Authority for Statistics revealed that this rate was the lowest since February 2022 when it was 1.6 percent. Transport costs fell by 0.5 percent in September compared to August, while prices for furnishings and household equipment decreased by 0.1 percent during the same period. Conversely, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel prices increased by 0.3 percent in September compared to the previous month. Food and beverage prices also inched up by 0.4 percent month on month in September, while expenses for tobacco products increased by 0.1 percent. Saudi Arabia has succeeded in containing the inflation rate, unlike many other countries grappling with soaring prices on the global stage. However, in September 2023, Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate increased by 1.7 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by higher prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which rose by 8.1 percent. GASTAT revealed that actual rents for housing increased by 9.8 percent in September of this year compared to the same month in 2022. “Prices for rents were the main driver of the inflation rate in September 2023 due to their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket with a weight of 21 percent,” said GASTAT. According to the report, expenses for restaurants and hotels went up by 2.5 percent year on year in September, while catering service prices surged by 2.1 percent. Expenses for education increased by 1.8 percent, mainly due to the rise in tertiary education prices by 5.5 percent, the report added. On the positive side, furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance prices decreased by 2.8 percent in September year on year, driven by the fall in furniture, carpets, and other floor coverings, which decreased by 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, in another report, GASTAT revealed that Saudi Arabia’s Wholesale Price Index increased by 0.5 percent in September compared to the same month in 2022. It attributed the rise in WPI to the higher prices of dairy products, which increased by 15.3 percent in September. The report added that the Kingdom’s WPI increased in September 2023 by 0.4 percent compared to August 2023, driven by the increase in the prices of other transportable goods, which rose by 1 percent.