RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Consumer Price Index or inflation rate recorded two percent during the month of January 2025, a slight rise from the previous month of December when it posted 1.9 percent. Saudi Arabia has the lowest inflation rates among the G20 countries. According to the data released on Sunday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the rise in inflation is driven mainly by an increase in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels section by 8 percent. The prices of the food and beverages section rose by 0.8 percent while the prices of the miscellaneous personal goods and services section by 3.3 percent, compared to a decrease in the prices of the transportation section by 1.9 percent. According to the GASTAT data, the eight percent increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels section was affected by the increase in the group of rents paid for housing by 9.7 percent and increase in villa rental prices by 7.7 percent during January 2025, and the increase in this section had a significant impact on the continuation of the annual inflation rate for December 2024 due to the weight that this section constitutes, which amounts to 25.5 percent. […]