ع
The General Authority for Statistics placed the annual increase in the Kingdom’s Wholesale Price Index at 4.6 percent for August 2026, down from a 5.0 percent rise recorded the previous month. The authority’s bulletin highlighted a surge in basic chemical prices of 51.4 percent as the main factor behind an 8.2 percent climb in the category covering other transportable goods excluding metal products, machinery and equipment. That category’s performance more than offset declines elsewhere and kept the overall index in positive territory for the period.
GASTAT figures show agriculture and fishery product prices increased 4.8 percent over the year to August while metal products, machinery and equipment advanced 2.2 percent. Prices for ores and minerals continued to fall, recording a 1.8 percent drop, and the category that includes food products, beverages, tobacco and textiles showed no measurable change after a slight decline in July. The authority compiles the index from a fixed basket of 343 goods to track movements before products reach retail markets.
On a monthly basis the Wholesale Price Index declined 0.2 percent in August from July, according to the same GASTAT release. The authority attributed the fall mainly to a 1.0 percent drop in other transportable goods and a 2.0 percent decrease in ores and minerals, even as metal products, machinery and equipment rose 0.8 percent and food-related categories gained 0.6 percent. This marked the first monthly contraction in the index since earlier in the year.
The General Authority for Statistics publishes the Wholesale Price Index each month to provide an early signal of cost pressures moving through the supply chain. Its latest bulletin, issued September 15, noted that refined petroleum products within the transportable goods category rose 4.0 percent annually while furniture and other manufactured items also contributed to the group’s overall increase. These shifts come against a backdrop of stable consumer inflation that held at 1.8 percent in August per separate authority data.
Earlier GASTAT readings had shown the annual wholesale price rise easing gradually through 2026 after stronger gains in the first half of the year. The authority’s time series indicates the index stood at 4.8 percent in June before climbing to 5.0 percent in July and then moderating in August. Such movements help policymakers monitor upstream price trends that could eventually feed into consumer costs across the Saudi economy.
The latest Wholesale Price Index release forms part of a regular statistical schedule that also includes consumer prices, construction costs and other economic indicators produced by the General Authority for Statistics. Its data are drawn from official surveys and administrative records covering domestic wholesale transactions. The authority has consistently expanded the scope of its price monitoring in recent years to align with international statistical standards.
