Saudi Arabia's newly-formed Consumer Protection Association urged authorities on Monday to force merchants to cut prices of products and services.

'Wholesalers and retailers in the kingdom must respond to what happened globally in terms of a general decrease in the prices of most products and services,' the association said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

It was the first public statement to be made by the group since its inception earlier this year. The king had endorsed the creation of the group.

Like other countries in the Gulf Arab region, Saudi Arabia has been battling a surge in inflation which peaked at almost 11 percent in the summer but has eased only slightly since then to 10.35 percent in September.

'Since merchants have been saying that the rise in prices was in line with global conditions then, it is logical for prices to decline now in line with the same global conditions,' the group said, accusing merchants of greed.

It argued that the rise in the U.S. dollar to which the Saudi riyal is pegged and the decline in prices of goods should reflect on domestic prices.

Authorities should protect consumers by officially asking merchants to reduce prices and fight monopolies, it said.

The government does not control the prices of most products. The kingdom,

the world's largest oil exporter, imports the majority of its needs in food products and is the largest importer of cars in the Middle East.

Car dealers in the kingdom, for instance, have been criticised by local media for not reducing prices in line with European and U.S. markets as major automakers grapple with the effects of the global financial crisis on demand. -Reuters