GCC inflation rate records 2.2 percent in July

The general inflation rate in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recorded 2.2 percent during July 2026, compared to the same month of 2025, compared to 2.1 percent last June, an increase of 0.1 percentage points, keeping the inflation rate at a moderate level and lower than the averages of a number of major economic blocs.

Data issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf showed that the housing, water, electricity and gas group topped the main groups in terms of contribution to annual inflation, by 0.82 percentage points, followed by the food and non-alcoholic beverages group with a contribution of 0.51 percentage points, then transportation by 0.31 percentage points, while the two groups of miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels contributed 0.16 percentage points.

Culture and entertainment contributed 0.09 percentage points, education 0.05 percentage points, insurance, financial services and telecommunications 0.03 percentage points each, health, furniture and household appliances 0.01 percentage points, tobacco and alcoholic beverages net contributed and clothing and footwear reduced inflation by 0.03 percentage points.

In terms of annual price change for major groups, the Housing, Water, Electricity and Gas group recorded the highest increase of 3.3 percent in July 2026 compared to the same month of the previous year, followed by Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Miscellaneous Goods & Services by 2.8 percent each.

The prices of culture and entertainment increased by 2.7 percent, transportation by 2.4 percent, restaurants and hotels by 2.3 percent, while the education, insurance and financial services groups recorded an increase of 1.4 percent each, the prices of telecommunications increased by 0.6 percent, tobacco, alcoholic beverages and health by 0.3 percent each, and furniture and home furnishings by 0.1 percent.

In contrast, the prices of the clothing and footwear group fell 0.7 percent year-on-year, making it the only major group to record a decline during the period.

On a monthly basis, the General Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.3 percent in July 2026 compared to June.

The Culture and Entertainment group recorded the highest monthly increase by 2 percent, followed by the housing, water, electricity and gas group by 0.6 percent, then restaurants and hotels by 0.5 percent, transportation by 0.3 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.2 percent, and the prices of insurance, financial services and health groups increased by 0.1 percent each, while the prices of tobacco, alcoholic beverages, telecommunications and education remained unchanged.

On the other hand, the prices of miscellaneous goods and services declined by 0.9 percent, and clothing, footwear, furniture and home furnishings by 0.1 percent each.

Data for July showed that the inflation rate in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which stood at 2.2 percent, fell below the averages of the reference economic blocs, reaching 4.1 percent in the OECD countries, 3.9 percent in the G20, and 3.0 percent in the G7, the European Union, and the Eurozone.

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