Saudi Arabia policy rate rises to 4.5% in September 2026

Saudi Arabia's central bank policy rate stood at 4.5% in September 2026, according to the Bank for International Settlements. That was up from 4.25% in August 2026. Housing Market Group's calculation from the same data puts the change between August 2026 and September 2026 at 0.25 percentage points. The increase came after a stretch in which the rate had not moved. The policy rate is a reference point for borrowing costs, which makes it relevant to anyone following housing finance.

The recent history shows how settled the rate had been before the latest change. Figures from the Bank for International Settlements put the policy rate at 4.25% in May 2026, and it stayed at 4.25% in June, July and August 2026. The September 2026 reading of 4.5% ended that run of unchanged months. The comparison with a year earlier gives a different picture. In September 2025 the rate was 4.75%. HMG's calculation shows that the September 2026 level was 0.25 percentage points lower than in September 2025. Despite the latest rise, the rate therefore remained below where it stood a year before.

Comparing Saudi Arabia with the other countries in the sheet helps put the figure in context. Australia's policy rate was 4.6% in September 2026, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, just above the Saudi level. Brazil's rate was far higher at 13.75% in the same month, based on Bank for International Settlements data. At the lower end, the Bank of Canada's rate was 2.25% in September 2026. The Deutsche Bundesbank and Banco de España both reported 2.5% for Germany and Spain in that month. The Bank of England's rate for the United Kingdom stood at 3.75% in September 2026.

The direction of change over the year varied widely across these countries. According to HMG's calculations, Australia's rate rose by 1 percentage point between September 2025 and September 2026. Germany and Spain each recorded a rise of 0.5 percentage points over the same period. Brazil moved the other way, with a fall of 1.25 percentage points. Canada and the United Kingdom each saw a decline of 0.25 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026, the same change recorded for Saudi Arabia.

HMG also ranked the countries by their change on a year earlier, with rank 1 given to the highest change and a fall counted as a negative change. On that basis, Saudi Arabia placed 6 of 7 among the 7 countries in the sheet for September 2026. Taken together, the figures show a Saudi policy rate that edged up in September 2026 after holding at 4.25% from May to August 2026. It nonetheless sat slightly below its September 2025 level, while some of the other countries covered here saw their rates rise over the same year.