Jadwa Investment's Inflation Report indicated that the annual overall inflation rate in the Kingdom slowed for the fourth consecutive month to 3.8% year-on-year, as the core inflation index recorded a significant slowdown, according to the company's estimates, partly reflecting the declining level of economic activity until July 2016.

The inflation index also recorded that food inflation turned negative for the first time since January 2010, which may be due to the ongoing deflation in global food prices, which was reflected in the ongoing deflation in global food prices.

The inflation index also recorded that food inflation turned negative for the first time since January 2010, possibly due to the ongoing deflation in global food prices, which was reflected in local food prices as well, which turned negative on a year-on-year basis, but prices remained unchanged on a monthly comparison, following an average monthly decline of 0.3% in the first six months of 2016.

The inflation index also recorded that food inflation turned negative on a monthly comparison, following an average monthly decline of 0.3% in the first six months of 2016.

Housing inflation remained a major contributor to overall inflation in July, with the contribution of housing inflation to overall inflation rising to 49.4%, the highest since December 2011. Inflation in that category accelerated to 7.5% percent in July, up from 7.2 percent in June, and the acceleration came as rental inflation in the "housing" subgroup, the largest contributor to housing inflation, increased to 3.6% in July on an annualized basis, up from 2.9% recorded the previous month. The contribution of core inflation fell to 51%, down from 53.6% recorded last month. Core inflation is a measure estimated by Jadwa Investment Company and excludes inflation in the food and housing categories.

Jadwa Investment Company's report concluded that the contribution of external factors to inflation is generally weak, due to the strength of the dollar and weak global economic growth, and expects domestic inflationary pressures to remain weak for the rest of the year, which is likely to be mitigated by the negative growth in money supply due to the decline in bank deposits. The firm maintains its expectation that the housing category will remain the main contributor to overall inflation, driven by strong domestic demand for housing units, and therefore estimates the average annual inflation for 2016 to remain at 3.9%

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