Saudi Arabia’s POS transactions surge 33% as education and freight spending lead the rally

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s total point-of-sale transactions reached SR16.3 billion ($4.35 billion) in the week ending Aug. 1, a 33 percent jump from the previous week, according to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA. The total number of transactions also climbed sharply, rising 18.1 percent to 267.1 million during the seven days, compared to 226.2 million the week before. Education, freight and telecom post sharpest gains The broad-based rally touched almost every sector tracked by SAMA, with education spending posting the sharpest increase.