RIYADH: Furniture and transport spending in Saudi Arabia registered the highest weekly point-of-sales increases from Sept. 8 to 14, according to central bank data.

The weekly bulletin released by the bank, also known as SAMA, revealed that spending on furniture rose to SR314.3 million ($83.74 million), marking a 1.6 percent increase for the week, while expenditure on transportation came in at SR767.6 million – up 1.3 percent on the previous seven days.

The food and beverages sector preserved the biggest share of the POS data at SR1.84 billion, followed by restaurants and cafes at SR1.80 billion and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.46 billion.

Spending in the top three largest categories accounted for SR5.1 billion out of this week’s total value.

The overall value of the POS dipped for the second week in a row, dropping by 8.6 percent compared to the previous week to reach SR12.2 billion.

The latest figures showed that spending in the education sector continued to lead the dip, recording the highest decrease at 43.3 percent, with total transactions reaching SR165 million.

This week marks one month of constant declines in the education sector, after surging for four consecutive weeks, coinciding with the start of the academic year on August 18.

During the first week of September, spending on telecommunication saw the second-largest decline at 18.7 percent to SR98.2 million.

Spending on culture and recreation recorded the third biggest dip with a 15.9 percent negative change, reaching SR246.7 million. 

Expenditure on construction materials and electronic devices recorded the smallest decline at 0.4 percent each, reaching SR348.5 million and SR208.8 million, respectively.

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing 34.8 percent of the total, with spending in the capital reaching SR4.2 billion — a 6.7 percent decrease from the previous week. 

Jeddah followed with a 6.8 percent decline to SR1.7 billion, accounting for 13.9 percent of the total, and Dammam came in third at SR620.4 million, down 6.3 percent.

Abha saw the largest decrease in spending, down by 13.1 percent to SR152.4 million. Tabuk and Hail also experienced downsticks, with expenditure dipping 13 percent and 11.7 percent to SR230.5 million and SR189.2 million, respectively. 

In terms of the number of transactions, Abha recorded the highest decrease at 4.6 percent, reaching 3,195. Khobar recorded the smallest decrease at 2 percent, reaching 4,373 transactions.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ports saw a 14.6 percent increase in both inbound and outbound container traffic in 2023 compared to the previous year, official data showed. 

According to the General Authority for Statistics, inbound container traffic at the Kingdom’s ports reached 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2023, while outbound traffic totaled 2.2 million TEUs. 

The report revealed that the quantity of outbound cargo amounted to 203.5 million tonnes in 2023, a strong indication of the Kingdom’s rising exports. King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu handled the largest volume of outbound cargo, totaling 89.8 million tonnes. 

Boosting exports, particularly non-oil goods, is crucial for Saudi Arabia as it continues its economic diversification efforts aimed at reducing its dependency on oil revenues. 

The quantity of inbound cargo reached 105.1 million tonnes in 2023, with Jeddah Islamic Port managing the largest share, handling 38.9 million tonnes of imports. 

GASTAT also noted a 33.8 percent rise in ship traffic at Saudi ports in 2023 compared to the previous year. 

“The total ship traffic at Saudi ports was 19,082 ships. King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu had the highest ship traffic, with 6,538 ships, followed by Jeddah Islamic Port with 4,411 ships, and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with 2,516 ships,” stated GASTAT.  

Total cargo handled at the Kingdom’s ports in 2023 amounted to 334 million tonnes, with 121.3 million tonnes of unloaded cargo and 213 million tonnes of loaded cargo.  

Jeddah Islamic Port recorded the highest unloaded cargo volume at 38.9 million tonnes, while King Fahad Industrial Port in Yanbu had the highest loaded cargo volume at 89.8 million tonnes. 

Passenger traffic at the Kingdom’s ports also rose by 11.5 percent in 2023, with over 1 million travelers arriving and departing. Jazan Port handled the largest number of passengers, totaling 484,598. 

The report highlighted that the number of cranes at Saudi ports reached 989 in 2023, and the total area of the Kingdom’s ports covered 104 sq. km, with Ras Al Khair Port being the largest at 23 sq. km.