This graphic shows inflation in Saudi Arabia since 1970, measured by the consumer price index, which reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of a basket of goods and services. In 1975, it soared to 34.5 per cent, in the aftermath of the 1973 oil embargo.

It dropped sharply to -3 in 1986, at the same time as oil production fell drastically because of the worldwide oil glut. After reaching 9.8 per cent in 2008, the highest level since 1973, inflation has now started to stabilise. It is still at the top end of Gulf crude oil producers, at 5.3 per cent in 2010, but not at the heights it has previously seen.