Point-of-sale (POS) spending in Saudi Arabia jumped 33% week on week to SR16.31 billion ($4.35 billion) during the period from July 26 to Aug. 1, with 267.11 million transactions recorded, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) said. Food and beverages led spending at SR2.69 billion, followed by other sectors at SR2.63 billion and restaurants and cafés at SR2.04 billion. Restaurants and cafés registered 63.7 million transactions, while bakeries and confectioneries recorded 6.76 million transactions worth SR285.5 million. The hotel sector saw 1.11 million transactions worth SR367.6 million. In retail, clothing and accessories recorded 11.8 million transactions worth SR1.41 billion, while culture and entertainment saw 4.41 million transactions worth SR412.9 million. Jewelry sales reached SR418.6 million, telecommunications SR246.2 million, and education SR177.8 million. Professional and business services generated 17.2 million transactions worth SR968.3 million, and electronics and electrical appliances totaled SR221.6 million. Furniture and home furnishings came to SR516.1 million, building materials SR431.5 million, and utilities and public services SR64.0 million. Fuel stations recorded 19.0 million transactions worth SR1.12 billion, and laundry services SR70.4 million. By city, Riyadh led with 82.9 million transactions worth SR5.23 billion, followed by Jeddah with 29.8 million transactions worth SR2.18 billion. Dammam saw 9.6 million transactions worth SR725.7 million, Makkah 10.3 million worth SR648.8 million, and Madinah 10.3 million worth SR649.0 million. Other cities accounted for 31.2 million transactions worth SR1.36 billion.