DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate was 2.7% in April, unchanged from the previous month, driven mostly by housing rental costs, government data released on Monday showed.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose by 8.1% from a year earlier, while the food and beverage sector - the leading driver for inflation during much of 2022 - rose by 1.0%, the data from the General Authority for Statistics showed.

Overall rents for housing grew 9.6% in April 2023. Apartment rents gained 22.2% following a similar rise in March.

Within the food sector, milk, milk products and eggs rose by almost 11%. Consumer prices were up 0.4% in April from March, the statistics authority said.

Japan’s wholesale inflation slows, may ease pressure on BOJ

The inflation outlook for the Gulf countries is muted compared to that expected in many major economies, a Reuters poll found.

For the full year, it forecast the region’s inflation would be between 2.1% and 3.3% and decrease further in 2024.