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The General Authority for Statistics placed the annual increase in the consumer price index at 1.8 percent in August compared with the same month a year earlier. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels climbed 3.9 percent on an annual basis, a slowdown from the 4.2 percent rise recorded in July. This category remains the largest contributor to the headline figure given its substantial weight in the index basket.[[1]](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabias-annual-inflation-rate-remains-18-aug-2026-09-15/)
GASTAT data showed food and beverage prices rose 1.4 percent over the year while transport costs increased 2.0 percent. Recreation, sport and culture registered a 2.8 percent gain with personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services up 3.5 percent. Declines in clothing and footwear along with furnishings and household equipment provided some counterbalance to these increases.[[2]](https://tradingeconomics.com/saudi-arabia/inflation-cpi)
On a monthly basis consumer prices advanced 0.1 percent in August following a 0.2 percent increase the prior month. The housing component edged higher by 0.4 percent from July mainly on a 0.6 percent rise in actual rents. Restaurants and accommodation services along with food and beverages each recorded modest monthly gains of 0.1 percent according to the authority’s breakdown.
The rate has hovered between 1.7 and 1.8 percent for much of 2026 after reaching 2.3 percent in August 2025 under a refreshed methodology that expanded coverage to all regions and updated basket weights from the 2023 household expenditure survey. August 2024 had shown a lower 1.4 percent annual rate prior to those revisions. The authority has described the changes as aligning Saudi data with global best practices for greater accuracy and transparency.[[3]](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2615381/amp)
Saudi Arabia’s inflation has stayed contained below 3 percent since 2023 supported by energy and food subsidies together with the riyal’s peg to the US dollar. Regional benchmarks across the Gulf Cooperation Council show similarly moderate readings shaped by comparable policy buffers even as housing and services exert upward pressure in several member states. The International Monetary Fund has noted in recent assessments that such stability aids household consumption and broader economic planning.[[3]](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2615381/amp)
The latest release forms part of GASTAT’s regular monthly updates that track shifts across 12 major divisions in the consumer basket. Officials have emphasised that the current base year of 2023 better captures evolving spending patterns nationwide. This framework supplies policymakers with detailed indicators used in tracking progress toward economic diversification targets.
