Saudi producer prices jump 5.1% in August, manufacturing leads rise

Riyadh — Saudi Arabia’s Producer Price Index rose 5.1 percent in August 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

GASTAT said the annual increase stemmed from a 5.3 percent rise in manufacturing prices, a 4.2 percent gain in water supply, sewerage and waste-management activities, and a 2.2 percent increase in electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply.

Year-on-year sector details

According to the same GASTAT data, refined petroleum product prices climbed 4.8 percent year-on-year, while chemicals and chemical products jumped 10.5 percent. Food product prices increased 5.4 percent, basic metals rose 8.6 percent and apparel surged 13.4 percent.

The authority also noted that fabricated metal products (excluding machinery and equipment) fell 3.1 percent, and prices in other economic activities dropped 3.5 percent.

Monthly movements

On a monthly basis, GASTAT reported that the PPI was broadly unchanged in August 2026 versus July, as manufacturing prices edged down 0.1 percent.

The slight decline was driven, GASTAT added, by a 1.5 percent drop in chemicals and chemical products, a 0.8 percent fall in rubber and plastic product prices and a 0.5 percent decrease across other economic activities.

Beverage production prices slipped 0.7 percent, while refined petroleum products gained 0.6 percent and basic metal prices inched up 0.2 percent, the authority said.

Meanwhile, electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply rose 1.0 percent month-on-month, and water supply, sewerage and waste-management activities increased 0.3 percent, according to GASTAT.

What the index measures

GASTAT explained that the PPI tracks relative changes in the prices of domestically produced goods and is compiled from data gathered in the Producer Price Survey, which samples industrial establishments covered by the index.