RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s total point-of-sale transactions remained above the $3 billion mark in the week ending Nov. 22, , reaching SR12.5 billion ($3.3 billion).
According to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, the overall POS amount represented a 4.4 percent week-on-week dip with the number of transactions also seeing a decrease at 5.4 percent to 220.15 million compared to 232.67 million the week before.
Five categories saw a slight uptick, with spending on hotels posting the largest increase at 19.8 percent to SR381.98 million, followed by auto and equipment rental, which rose 10.8 percent to SR578.2 million.
Expenditure on personal care saw a slight increase at 4.8 percent, followed by a 4.5 percent increase in spending on books and stationery. Jewelry outlays saw a 3.2 percent increase to reach SR335.8 million.
Data revealed decreases across the rest of the categories, led by education, which saw the largest dip at 17.6 percent to reach SR104.48 million. Spending in pharmacies on medical supplies followed, with an 11.2 percent decrease to reach SR197.2 million.
