Saudi Arabia's inflation reaches 2% in November

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate continued to slowly accelerate, hitting 2% in November compared to 1.9% in October, according to government data released on Sunday, again driven by an increase in housing rents.

Rents for housing increased by 10.8% in November, with apartment rental prices increasing by 12.5%, the General Authority for Statistics said, pushing up prices for the combined housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels category by 9.1%.

These categories had a significant impact on the overall acceleration of inflation, with the rising cost of housing and rent driving price increases for much of this year.

Prices in the food and beverage category rose by 0.3% in November, while those for personal goods and services were up 2.7%.

Prices in the restaurants and hotels category rose by 1.5%, driven by a 5.9% increase in the prices for hotel and furnished apartment services.

Transportation prices continued to decrease, falling by 2.5%.

On a month-on-month basis, prices increased by 0.3% in November.

Inflation in Saudi Arabia has hovered between 1.5% and 1.9% for most of the year, with it reaching 2% in November after it began inching up in July.

Inflation in the country has remained relatively low compared with global levels, and the International Monetary Fund expects Saudi inflation to remain stable at about 2% over the medium term.

(Reporting by Pesha Magid; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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