For April Bahrain inflation rose to 6.2 per cent, while in Saudi Arabia the figure was 10.5 per cent. For March, inflation in Saudi Arabia was 9.6 per cent, making the month on month increase in inflation one of the lowest so far this year.

In Saudi Arabia rents increased by 20.4 per cent during April, compared with the same period in the previous year, while food prices have risen by 16 per cent, figures from the Economy and Planning Ministry indicate.

In Bahrain, the rise in inflation is predominately attributed to food prices, which rose by 3.3 per cent during April. Housing and rental costs rose by only 0.4 per cent. For the previous month Bahraini inflation was 5.2 per cent.

Central Bank governor Rasheed al-Maraj has said that the government is working to tackle the domestic bottlenecks which contribute to inflation, but there is little the government can do to combat rising global inflation (MEED 23:05:08).