Business · Economy · 2 days ago
Saudi consumer spending rises 23% as education outlays surge
Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia rose 23.4% in the week ending Oct.
3, reaching SR16.51 billion, or about $4.4 billion.
The figures cover purchases made through point-of-sale transactions, whose number also increased by 12.5%.
Education spending climbed 142.8%, the biggest rise among sectors.
Economist Talat Hafiz said the increase reflected the start of the school year, including fees and purchases of educational supplies.
Spending also rose in areas such as food, transport and healthcare, while hotel spending fell.
Riyadh had the highest total spending among the cities listed, at SR5.62 billion.
Hafiz described the education surge as seasonal, but the figures do not say what spending will do next.
Saudi consumer spending rose 23.4 percent week on week to SR16.51 billion in the week ending Oct. 3.
Education spending recorded the biggest sectoral increase, climbing 142.8 percent to SR212.57 million.
The Saudi Central Bank data showed point-of-sale transaction volumes rose 12.5 percent to 273.92 million.
Economist Talat Hafiz said the education spending jump was largely seasonal and linked to the start of the academic year.
Hotels were the only major sector to record a decline, with spending down 9.8 percent to SR280.55 million.
- Who
- Saudi consumers.
- What
- Weekly consumer spending rose 23.4 percent to SR16.51 billion, with education outlays climbing 142.8 percent.
- When
- In the week ending Oct. 3.
- Where
- Saudi Arabia.
- Why
- Education spending rose largely because of the start of the academic year, school and university fees, and educational supplies, according to economist Talat Hafiz.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
the sharp increase in education-related spending was largely seasonal, reflecting the start of the new academic year and, to some extent, the later start of some educational institutions, particularly international and foreign schools, compared with the general school calendar in the Kingdom.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Total spending
- SR16.51 billion
- Week-on-week increase
- 23.4 percent
- Education spending
- SR212.57 million, up 142.8 percent
- Point-of-sale transactions
- 273.92 million, up 12.5 percent
- Riyadh spending
- SR5.62 billion, up 20 percent
Sources
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