RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions climbed 5 percent to SR14.3 billion ($3.81 billion) in the week ending July 5, driven by increased spending across multiple sectors.
The latest data from the Kingdom’s central bank, also known as SAMA, showed that hotels led the growth, registering the largest jump in transaction value, up 22.7 percent to SR260.74 million.
The sector also saw an 18 percent rise in the number of transactions, reaching 802,000.
According to SAMA’s bulletin, the telecommunication division followed, recording a 9.8 percent increase in transaction value to SR136.09 million.
Public utilities spending ranked next, rising 8.8 percent to SR56.92 million, with transactions up 7.2 percent to 740 million.
Food and beverages — responsible for the largest share of total POS value among the defined categories — recorded a 6.9 percent increase to SR2.13 billion.
Transportation spending rose 4.1 percent to SR776.28 million, while restaurants and cafes saw a 3.5 percent increase, totaling SR1.95 billion and claiming the second-biggest share of this week’s POS.
Miscellaneous goods and services claimed the third-largest share of the total transaction value, with an uptick of 8.6 percent to SR1.79 billion.
The smallest spending gains were in gas stations, rising by 1.1 percent to SR974.03 million, and electronics, which increased by 3 percent to SR187.56 million.
The health and furniture sectors also saw upward changes, increasing by 3.7 percent and 8 percent to reach SR871.34 million and SR289.99 million, respectively.
On the downside, spending on education dipped by 33.5 percent to SR141.12 million, followed by a 6 percent decrease in spending on jewelry.
Recreation and culture followed the trend, falling 2.3 percent to SR287.79 million.
Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.87 billion, a 3.9 percent increase from the previous week.
Jeddah followed with a 6.8 percent rise to SR2.06 billion, while Dammam ranked third, up 1 percent to SR680.17 million.
Tabuk saw the smallest increase, inching up 0.1 percent to SR278.76 million, followed by Khobar with a 0.5 percent uptick to SR387.48 million.
Hail recorded 4.21 million deals in transaction volume, up 6.4 percent, while Makkah reached 8.9 million transactions, rising 8.8 percent.
