Saudi trade minister resigns amid inflation woes

Riyadh: Saudi Arabian Trade and Industry Minister Hashem Yamani has resigned, the official news agency SPA reported on Monday, amid criticism over rising inflation in the kingdom.

King Abdullah named Abdullah Zainal as the new minister, SPA said.

Zainal has previously been a minister of state and head of the chamber of commerce in Jeddah.

Yamani was among officials who was criticised in Saudi newspapers when inflation hit 7 per cent in January, its highest level in more than a quarter of a century.

Inflationary pressures have accompanied an economic boom stemming from the nearly 400 per cent jump in oil prices since 2002 and from Saudi Arabia's action in pegging its riyal to the weak US dollar, which has pushed up some import prices.