Saudi inflation rebased, headline rate hits two-year high

The rebasing of Saudi Arabia’s inflation data, which came alongside August’s data release, has resulted in only minor changes to the headline inflation readings, but it underlines the shifts in consumer spending pattern towards services since the launch of Vision 2030. While inflation hit a two-year high of 2.3% y/y in August, it remains subdued by the standards of other EMs and, as we outlined in a recent Focus, we think that price pressures will remain soft as we head into 2026.