Saudi consumer prices rose 1.8% year on year in August 2026, driven by housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels up 3.9%, transport up 2.0% and food and beverages up 1.4%, with the index up 0.1% on the month and the Wholesale Price Index up 4.6%; it is the fourth consecutive month at 1.8%. GASTAT published July's Producer Price Index the same day: producer prices rose 5.3% year on year, with the index at 108.1 points against 102.7 a year earlier.
For four months, consumer prices have stayed at 1.8% while producer prices have risen to 5.3%. This means the economy is protecting households from higher costs, but the extra expenses are showing up elsewhere.
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Confidence at fifty-six seven
Saudi Arabia's Business Confidence Index rose to 56.7 in August from 56.5 in July, holding above the 50-point neutral threshold, according to the General Authority for Statistics. The industrial sector's index climbed to 55.8 and the services index rose to 56.1, after the overall reading dropped to 52.1 in March amid regional tensions and rebounded to 54.5 in April.
Finance directors preparing Saudi budgets for next year should interpret the figure 56.7 as an indicator of continued customer spending expectations, while the March value of 52.1 reflects the pace of change in these expectations.
Retail sells, companies buy
Tadawul's market capitalisation slipped SAR 8.9 billion, or 0.10%, to SAR 9.299 trillion in the week ended 24 September, from SAR 9.308 trillion a week earlier. Foreign investors cut holdings by SAR 6.23 billion to 4.73% of total market capital, with foreign institutions alone selling SAR 5.55 billion, while Saudi retail investors reduced positions by SAR 14.33 billion and Saudi corporates increased theirs by SAR 13.06 billion.
Since domestic corporate money is now the main source of new investment, a CFO planning a Saudi equity raise should first check interest with local companies before arranging meetings with international investors.
Cards flat, phones compounding
Mobile payments in Saudi Arabia ran at SAR 13,100 a second in July, up from SAR 4,200 a second in July 2021 — a 210% rise across five years, and around SAR 34 billion for the month. Card sales came in at SAR 25.7 billion in the same month, up 0.3% year on year, while e-commerce set a record at SAR 37.6 billion, up 26%.
When pitching to Saudi merchants, payment infrastructure vendors should highlight the 26% e-commerce figure instead of focusing on the 0.3% card statistic. This growth is happening in an area where their buyers are not fully meeting demand.
