RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions remained above SR13 billion ($3.47 billion) for the second week in a row, according to the latest official figures.
Data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, showed a weekly dip of 15.4 percent to SR13.1 billion over the seven-day period to May 10, with decreased spending across all sectors.
Education registered the largest decrease in transaction value — down 32.3 percent to SR162.1 million.
The sector also saw a 25.1 percent downturn in the number of transactions, reaching 144,000.
The telecommunication sector followed, recording a 23.7 percent decrease in transaction value to SR104.1 million. Food and beverage spending ranked next, dropping by 21.2 percent to SR1.8 billion, accounting for the second-largest share of the week’s POS.
Transportation spending edged down 14.6 percent to SR727.5 million, while restaurants and cafes saw a 10.1 percent decrease, totaling SR1.9 billion and claiming the biggest share of the overall POS.
The smallest expenditure drop was in spending on construction and building material, down by 5.4 percent to SR335.7 million.
The health and public utilities sectors also saw downward changes decreasing by 12.9 percent and 13 percent to reach SR830.1 million and SR49.1 million, respectively.
Spending on electronics followed the trend dropping 14.9 percent to SR161.1 million, and recreation and culture edging down by 13.3 percent to SR252.9 million.
Miscellaneous goods and services claimed the third-largest share, with a decrease of 15.6 percent to SR1.6 billion.
The top three categories — food and beverages, miscellaneous goods and services, and restaurants and cafes — accounted for 41.2 percent of the week’s total spending, amounting to SR5.4 billion.
Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with expenditure in the capital coming in at SR4.6 billion — an 11.8 percent decrease from the previous week.
Jeddah followed with a 10.9 percent dip to SR1.8 billion, while Dammam ranked third, down 12 percent to SR679.3 million. Tabuk saw the biggest decrease, inching down 24.9 percent to SR244.1 million, followed by Hail with a 23.7 percent downtick to SR205.1 million.
In transaction volume, Hail recorded 3.8 million deals, down 14.8 percent, while Tabuk reached 4.7 million transactions, dropping 13.3 percent.
Makkah and Dammam experienced the smallest declines in transaction numbers, with Makkah seeing a 4.3 percent drop to 9 million deals and Dammam recording a 6.6 percent decrease to 9.2 million transactions.
