/world business
(CNN) -- One thing Saudi people should not have to worry about is money.
Oil money is paying for Saudi Arabia's growth but it is also the main cause of rising prices
The kingdom is awash in cash which keeps pouring into the world's largest oil producer as prices rise. Last year alone, Saudi is estimated to have raked in about $200 billion from oil.
It is this influx of money which is paying for Saudi Arabia's economic growth -- but it is also the main cause of rising prices across the country.
"There is no free lunch. If you want to grow at that base, you have to swallow a price every once in a while in the form of high inflation," said Abdulrahman Al Harithi, CEO of investment bank, MENA Financial Group.
Saudi people are certainly paying the price. Inflation is currently running at 9.6 percent -- a 30-year high.
At the beginning of the year, rental costs went up nearly 17 percent. In March, the cost of fuel and water increased almost 16 percent and other everyday staples also saw double digit gains.
The kingdom's business community is also concerned about the adverse effects of inflation.
A recent survey of Saudi Arabia's business confidence by financial services company, SABB, found that while confidence remains robust, over half of respondents were concerned that inflation would lead to rising business costs.
Prices in the kingdom will continue their upward trend, according to the analysts at SABB.
What's more, there is not much the Saudi government can do to combat it. The riyal, like many other Gulf currencies, is pegged to the U.S. dollar and while the Gulf is booming, the U.S. is heading towards recession.
As the economic fortunes of the two countries continue to diverge it is hard to see what can be done to combat inflation.
The main problem is that whenever the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, like it did this week, the kingdom must follow suit.
In a booming economy like Saudi's, low interest rates push prices through the roof.
The government is studying whether remedies like a minimum wage could ease the pain but some in the kingdom, like Al Harithi, say there is no quick solution.
"Honestly, I don't' think there is an answer for such a question. I don't think there is a magical formula that could fix this issue," he told CNN. E-mail to a friend 
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