RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions climbed 6.3 percent to SR14.4 billion ($3.8 billion) in the week ending March 22, with jewelry once again leading the growth.

The latest figures from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, showed that spending in the sector registered the largest increase in the value of transactions at 29.9 percent to reach SR544.4 million.

Jewelry also saw a 34.4 percent surge in terms of the number of transactions, reaching 403,000.

The hotel sector ranked second with a 24.8 percent surge in transaction value to SR440 million. Spending on clothing and footwear followed, rising 24.5 percent, holding the second-largest share of POS transactions at SR1.87 billion.

Overall transactions increased by 22.4 percent to 12 million.

Expenditure on transportation edged up by 6.9 percent to SR950.8 million, and spending in restaurants and cafes increased by 3.7 percent, bringing the total value of transactions to SR1.5 billion.

The smallest spending increases were in the telecommunication and the construction sectors, rising by 0.2 percent to SR114.8 million and 0.03 percent to SR308 million, respectively.

Spending on education saw the steepest decline for the second week in a row, dropping 37.2 percent to SR88.2 million, following a 144.6 percent surge during the week from March 2 to 8 as students returned from the winter break.

Expenditure on public utilities saw a 4.5 percent dip to SR52.4 million, and spending on food and beverages recorded a 2 percent drop to SR1.88 billion, but still held the largest share of the POS.

Miscellaneous goods and services accounted for the third biggest POS share, with a 5.8 percent uptick, reaching SR1.7 billion. 

Spending in the leading three categories accounted for approximately 38.1 percent, or SR5.5 billion, of the week’s total value.

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing around 34.1 percent of the total, with spending in the capital reaching SR4.9 billion — a 4.6 percent increase from the previous week. 

Jeddah followed with a 9.8 percent increase to SR2.1 billion, and Makkah came in third at SR933.2 million, up 14 percent. 

Tabuk experienced the smallest increase in spending, edging up by 0.6 percent to SR248.2 million. 

Buraidah and Makkah saw the largest increases in terms of number of transactions, surging by 4.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, to 4.4 million and 9.8 million transactions.