RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s inflation slowed to 1.5 percent in December 2023, compared to 1.7 percent in the previous month, official data showed. According to the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics, the decline in the rate on a month-on-month basis was driven by a 0.3 percent decrease in the prices of food and beverages. Compared to November, prices of transport decreased by 0.4 percent in December, while expenses for clothing and footwear dipped by 0.3 percent. On the other hand, prices of education and tobacco showed no significant change in the final month of 2023 compared to November. In December, prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels went up by 0.7 percent, while expenses for restaurants and hotels also increased by 0.4 percent. According to GASTAT, rents were the main driver of annual inflation in December as they surged by 9 percent. This had an impact on the headline figure, given their high relative importance in the Saudi consumer basket with a weight of 21 percent. Compared to December 2022, food and beverage prices increased by 1.2 percent, while expenses for restaurants and hotels surged by 2.5 percent. Similarly, prices for recreation and culture rose by 1 percent in December 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year. In contrast, expenses for furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance decreased by 3.2 percent year-on-year during the same period. Meanwhile, in another report, GASTAT noted that Saudi Arabia’s Wholesale Price Index rose by 3 percent in the final month of 2023 compared to the year-ago period. The increase in the WPI in December was primarily driven by higher prices of basic chemicals and dairy products, which went up by 30.9 percent and 41.3 percent, respectively. The GASTAT report further noted that the Kingdom’s WPI increased by 0.4 percent in the last month of 2023 compared to November, as a result of the increase in the prices of other transportable goods, which went up by 0.8 percent.