Saudi Arabia’s annual consumer price inflation slowed to 3.8% in July 2016, compared to 4.1% in June on slowdown in food prices. Annual food and beverages prices declined 0.1% in July after growing 0.1% in June. Transportation costs slowed to 9.4% Y-o-Y in July from 10.2% Y-o-Y in June, while Housing and utility prices edged up to 7.5% Y-o-Y in July from 7.2% Y-o-Y in June, being affected by hikes in gasoline and utility prices in December 2015. On a M-o-M basis, inflation edged down to 0.1% in July from 0.3% in June, also driven by slowdown in food prices. (Reuters)