Saudi Arabia's inflation eased from an 18-month peak in September, while the central bank governor said he was not much concerned about price levels in the top Arab economy, slightly softening his recent remarks. Consumer price growth in the world's biggest oil exporter slowed to 5.9 per cent on an annual basis in September, from 6.1 per cent in the previous month, data showed late on Monday. ""This is definitely a good sign and positive for the markets in the short term,"" Shiv Prakash, equity investment analyst at Mac Capital Advisors, told Gulf News. He said that if Saudi Arabia manages to keep its inflation under control, ""its beneficial for the markets and will stimulate the economy."" However, he added it is too early to say if the pattern of inflation will impact interest rates in the biggest Arab economy. ""Also, there is still an imbalance in the inflation rates of (P)GCC nations, as the Kuwait inflation data shows."" Musa Haddad, head of trade, discretionary mandate at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News said that he has seen the markets in Saudi Arabia consolidating for some while, and a neutral outlook on banks as well as an easing inflation will have a stabilizing effect on the Saudi economy. However, inflation in Saudi Arabia is still at the top end of Gulf crude producers but still below record double-digit peaks seen in 2008. Month-on-month, the cost of living rose 0.5 per cent in September, the same pace seen in the previous month, although food price growth cooled from its August peak. In remarks to Al Arabiya television channel, central bank Governor Mohammad Al Jasser said monetary policy measures would be useless to curb rising inflation which he attributed to an increase in global food prices, echoing his September comments. ""The inflation ratio is increasing in the kingdom,"" Jasser said an interview aired Tuesday. ""It has not reached very worrying levels,"" Jasser said, referring to August figures.