GCC Statistics: Inflation Rate at 2.2% in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries Last July

- Housing, water, electricity, and gas lead the groups contributing to inflation

The general inflation rate in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries stood at 2.2% in July 2026, compared to the same month in 2025, up from 2.1% in June, representing an increase of 0.1 percentage points, remaining at a moderate level and below the averages of several major economic blocs.

Data released by the GCC Statistical Center showed that the housing, water, electricity, and gas group led the main categories in its contribution to annual inflation, by 0.82 percentage points, followed by the non-alcoholic food and beverages group with a contribution of 0.51 percentage points, and transport by 0.31 percentage points.

The diverse goods and services, and restaurants and hotels groups each contributed 0.16 percentage points, while the culture and entertainment group contributed 0.09 percentage points, and education contributed 0.05 percentage points. Meanwhile, insurance and financial services, and telecommunications each contributed 0.03 percentage points.

Health, and furniture and household equipment each contributed 0.01 percentage points, while the tobacco and alcoholic beverages group had a neutral contribution. In contrast, the clothing and footwear group reduced the inflation rate by 0.03 percentage points.

Regarding the annual change in prices of the main groups, the housing, water, electricity, and gas group recorded the highest increase at 3.3% in July 2026 compared to the same month of the previous year, followed by the non-alcoholic food and beverages, and diverse goods and services groups, each at 2.8%.

Prices in the culture and entertainment group rose by 2.7%, transport by 2.4%, and restaurants and hotels by 2.3%, while education and insurance and financial services each recorded an increase of 1.4%.

Telecommunications prices rose by 0.6%, while tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and health each rose by 0.3%, and furniture and household equipment by 0.1%. Conversely, prices in the clothing and footwear group fell by 0.7% on an annual basis, making it the only main group to record a decline during the period.

On a monthly basis, the general consumer price index rose by 0.3% in July 2026 compared to June of the previous month.

The culture and entertainment group recorded the highest monthly increase at 2%, followed by the housing, water, electricity, and gas group at 0.6%, restaurants and hotels at 0.5%, transport at 0.3%, and non-alcoholic food and beverages at 0.2%.

Prices in the insurance and financial services, and health groups each rose by 0.1%, while prices in the tobacco and alcoholic beverages, telecommunications, and education groups remained unchanged.

Conversely, prices in the diverse goods and services group fell by 0.9%, and clothing and footwear, and furniture and household equipment each fell by 0.1%.

Data from July showed that the inflation rate in the GCC countries, at 2.2%, was below the averages of reference economic blocs, reaching 4.1% in the OECD countries as a whole, and 3.9% in the G20, while the G7, the European Union, and the Eurozone each recorded 3.0%.