Saudi annual inflation eases to 4.7 percent

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate has dipped to 4.7 percent in March, largely on the back of retreating food prices. The Saudi Arabian Department of Statistics and Information said annualised inflation dropped from February's level of 4.9 percent. Analysts, however, question the sustainability of the drop given roughly $120 billion in planned government handouts and perks announced by King Abdullah in February and March.
The packages, which includes salary increases, unemployment insurance and the building of hundreds of thousands of housing units, is expected to raise inflation at least temporarily. The spending was part of an effort to prevent the mass protests that have rippled through the Arab world from taking hold in the kingdom.