Poor Saudis to get $306m amid surge in inflation

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is to pay its low-income citizens an extra 1.15 billion riyals (Dh1.12 billion, $306 million) in aid during Ramadan, state media said on Sunday, as the country witnesses record inflation.

The grant ordered by King Abdullah will be distributed to families covered by social welfare to help them "fulfil their urgent needs during Ramadan", the Saudi Press Agency said.

Devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, which begins today, but overall food consumption usually increases in Gulf countries because of lavish banquets in the evenings.

Saudi inflation hit a 30-year high of 10.6 per cent in June and is expected to continue rising in the third quarter.

Inflation is a key challenge across the Gulf, where currencies are pegged to the ailing dollar, as their economies surge on windfall revenues from oil that has been racing to record highs.