Saudi weekly consumer spending surges 23% to $4.4bn on education outlays 

Saudi Arabia's consumer spending surged 23.4% to SR16.51 billion ($4.4 billion) for the week ending October 3, primarily driven by a 142.8% increase in education-related expenditures due to the new academic year. Other sectors also saw growth, with food and beverage spending up 41% and transportation by 27.8%, while spending in hotels declined by 9.8%.