Money supply down by 0.1 pct in October

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 9, (KUNA): Kuwait recorded a current account surplus of KD 108 million ($357 million) in the second quarter of 2020, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said on Wednesday.

The surplus fell by KD 112 million ($369 million) from the KD 220 million ($726 million) recorded in the earlier quarter, representing a 50 percent drop, according to a press release. The drop is due to a dip of KD 2.2 billion ($7.2 billion) in the value of total earnings in the credit side of the current account, and a fall of KD 2.1 billion ($6.9 billion) in the value of the total payments in the debit side, it added.

The commodity balance surplus also dropped by KD 318.6 million ($1 billion) to KD 1.6 billion ($5.2 billion) compared to KD 2 billion ($6.6 billion) in the first quarter. The balance for services dropped 78.5 percent by KD 1.2 billion ($1.9 billion) to KD 354.9 million ($1.1 million). Meanwhile, Kuwait’s money supply (M2) declined 0.1 percent in October on a monthly basis, recording KD 40.4 billion ($133.3 billion), the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said on Wednesday. Private sector deposits made in the Kuwaiti dinar at local banks slid by 0.3 percent to KD 35.9 billion ($118.4 billion), according to the state monetary authority’s economic research department.

On the other hand, deposits in foreign currencies rose by 3.2 percent to KD 2.2 billion ($7.2 billion). Domestic banks’ claims on the CBK in the Kuwaiti dinar, represented by CBK bonds, settled at KD 2.9 billion ($9.5 billion) as their total assets increased by 0.1 percent, reaching KD 72.6 billion ($239.5 billion).

Net foreign currency assets at domestic banks dropped by 0.3 percent to KD 7.7 billion ($25.4 billion), as time deposits at CBK shedded 6.2 percent to reach KD 3 billion ($9.9 billion). The balances of cash credit facilities (loans) decreased by 0.3 percent to reach KD 39.9 billion ($131.6 billion). In the meantime, the average interest rates on treasury bonds of one-year maturity dropped to 1.375 percent. The financing of Kuwaiti imports also decreased by a monthly 9.1 percent, recording KD 221 million ($729.3 million), whereas the average US dollar exchange rate against the Kuwaiti dinar settled at KD 305.8.