Tadawul Shares End Week Lower; Saudi Arabia's Inflation Steady in July
The Tadawul All Share Index ended the week lower at 0.19% in the red on Thursday as investors assessed the latest set of economic releases from Saudi Arabia.According to the kingdom's General Authority for Statistics, the annual inflation rate for July remained stable at 1.8%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices in the kingdom edged up 0.2%."The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels division is the main contributor to the annual inflation with a contribution of 0.8 percentage points, followed by the food and beverages division with a contribution of 0.3 percentage points, in addition to the transport division with a contribution of 0.2 percentage points, the personal care, social protection and other goods and services division with a contribution of 0.2 percentage points, and the other divisions that contributed by 0.3 percentage points," the statistics agency said in its report.The country's wholesale prices saw a 5% year-over-year growth in July from a 4.8% rise in the prior month. Meanwhile, Saudi's producer price index data showed an 8.5% annual increase in June. Month over month, the index ticked up 0.6%.In other news, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan will hold joint military exercises to boost the three countries' defense industry partnership, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish defense ministry. The three signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Aug. 7.Back at home and on the corporate front, Riyadh Steel (SASE:9588) closed 3.10% higher as it logged mixed results in the first half. The steel manufacturer reported a 145.8% surge in attributable net profit and a 15% decrease in sales.
