KUWAIT CITY, Sept 6: Kuwait’s money supply (M2) declined 0.8 percent in July on a monthly basis, recording KD 38.7 billion (USD 127.7 billion), the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said on Sunday. Private sector deposits made in the Kuwaiti dinar at local banks slid by 0.6 percent to KD 34.7 billion (USD 114.5 billion), according to the state monetary authority’s economic research department. Deposits in foreign currencies also decreased by 4.6 percent to KD 2.2 billion (USD 6.6 billion).

Domestic banks’ claims on the CBK in the Kuwaiti dinar, represented by CBK bonds, settled at KD 2.9 billion (USD 9.6 billion) as their total assets decreased by 1.4 percent, reaching KD 73.8 billion (USD 244 billion). Net foreign currency assets at domestic banks increased by 2.4 percent to KD 5.9 billion (USD 19 billion), as time deposits at CBK shedded 21.8 percent to reach KD 1.9 billion (USD 6.2 billion). The balances of cash credit facilities (loans) increased by 0.4 percent to reach KD 40 billion (USD 132 billion). Meanwhile, the average interest rates on treasury bonds of one-year maturity remain unchanged at 1.375 percent. The financing of Kuwaiti imports decreased by a monthly 16.7 percent, recording KD 475million (USD 1.5 million), with the average US dollar exchange rate against the Kuwaiti dinar remained steady at KD 302.5.(KUNA)