The General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia has released its latest economic data for December 2025, showing a notable increase of 3.1% in the wholesale price index compared to the same period in 2024. This report reflects price movements in primary markets, providing an important indicator of inflation trends in the coming months.
Main rise engines
The authority explained in its detailed report that the primary driver of this annual increase was the rise in prices of "other transportable goods" (excluding metal products, machinery, and equipment), which increased by 5.7%. This category is closely linked to the energy and manufacturing sectors, with refined petroleum product prices jumping by 8.2% and basic chemicals rising by 7.8%, reflecting increased demand or changes in global and domestic production costs for these vital materials.
In the food and agriculture sector, the report noted a 3.6% increase in the prices of agricultural and fishing products, driven by a 5.0% increase in agricultural product prices and a 1.2% increase in the prices of live animals and animal products, which may later be reflected in retail prices for the end consumer.
Details of other sectors and monthly change
The price increase was not limited to basic commodities, but extended to other industrial sectors, where:
- Prices of metal products, machinery and equipment rose by 1.1%, influenced by a 5.4% increase in basic metal prices.
- Food, beverages and textiles saw a slight increase of 0.2%, due to higher prices for leather, footwear and grain mill products.
- In contrast, raw materials and metals prices recorded a slight decrease of 0.1% as a result of the decline in prices of stones and sand.
On a monthly basis, the index showed an increase of 1.0% in December 2025 compared to November of the same year, mainly driven by a 13.8% rise in basic chemical prices, indicating active price fluctuations in this sector during the last month of the year.
The importance of the wholesale price index and its economic implications
The wholesale price index is of paramount importance in economic analysis, as it serves as a leading indicator of consumer prices (inflation). Price increases at the wholesale level are often gradually passed on to retailers and then to consumers, making monitoring this index essential for policymakers and businesses to formulate their financial plans.
These data reflect the strength of the Kingdom’s trade activity and its sensitivity to global markets, especially in the refined oil and petrochemical sectors, which constitute a large part of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports and play a pivotal role in the national economy within the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Monitoring methodology
It should be noted that the General Authority for Statistics relies in its reports on a fixed basket of 343 items, the prices of which are collected monthly from three main cities, namely Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, with the year 2014 being adopted as the base year, which ensures the accuracy and reliability of the data issued and its conformity with international statistical standards.
