Weekly Market Brief – 6/17/2022

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Annual consumer inflation in Saudi Arabia rose 2.2 percent YoY in May, driven by ‘food & beverages’ (+4.2 percent) and transportation (+4 percent). Wholesale inflation meanwhile rose 10.2 percent YoY as petroleum and petrochemicals saw higher prices.

• The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) raised key interest rates by 50 basis points. SAMA lifted both the repo rate and its reverse repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.25 percent and 1.75 percent, respectively. The move follows the U.S. Fed decision to raise key interest rates by 75 basis points.

• The total assets held by public and private investment funds in Saudi Arabia grew by 5 percent to SAR551.2 billion ($147 billion) during Q1 2022, according to the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The number of subscribers to Saudi investment funds stood at 517.4K in Q1, down from 534.6K at the end of Q4 2021.