RIYADH: Saudis have increased their spending on utilities and jewelry during the first week of December, while food and beverage sales showed a slight decline, according to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank. 

In the week from Dec. 1 to 7, spending on public utilities rose by 11.5 percent to SR63.32 million ($16.85 million), driven by higher demand for essential services. The sector also saw a rise in transactions, which climbed 4.9 percent to SR803,000. 

Data from the weekly point-of-sale reports showed that jewelry sales recorded the second-largest growth, rising 8.2 percent to SR288.13 million, followed by an uptick in spending on construction materials, which grew by 4.4 percent to SR382 million. 

Total POS transactions in the Kingdom reached SR14.22 billion, a 0.7 percent decrease from the previous week. 

This comes as spending on food and beverages experienced a modest decline. Expenditures fell by 0.8 percent to SR2.20 billion, still maintaining the largest share of total POS value. Restaurant and cafe spending also dipped by 1.4 percent to SR1.97 billion, representing the second-largest category by value. 

Certain sectors saw positive growth, such as electronics, which rose by 2.1 percent to SR221.30 million, and miscellaneous goods and services, which jumped by 3.5 percent to SR1.76 billion. 

Telecommunications spending declined by 3.1 percent, amounting to SR138.84 million. Health sector spending remained relatively flat with a 0.6 percent increase, reaching SR867.53 million. Furniture expenditures grew by 1.5 percent to SR348.52 million, marking the second-smallest increase. 

Riyadh accounted for the largest share of POS transactions, making up 34.7 percent of the total with SR4.94 billion in spending, though this was down 1.1 percent compared to the previous week. 

Jeddah saw a 3.1 percent increase, reaching SR1.92 billion, while Dammam recorded a slight decline of 0.1 percent to SR719.3 million. 

Among smaller cities, Tabuk saw the steepest drop in spending, down 5.1 percent to SR281 million, followed by Hail and Abha, which declined by 2.9 percent to SR234.71 million and 1.3 percent to SR166.55 million, respectively. 

In terms of transaction volumes, Makkah and Jeddah experienced the most significant increases, with transaction numbers up 3.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Makkah recorded 8.97 million transactions, while Jeddah saw 26.31 million. 

Hail and Tabuk reported the largest decreases, with transactions falling by 1.5 percent 3.93 million and 1.1 percent 4.82 million, respectively.