Mubasher: The consumer sector in Kuwait showed improvement in the third quarter of 2017 after a slowdown was registered in 2016 and the first half of 2017, as reported by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).
This recovery is attributed to a stronger materialising in card spending, consumer confidence, and household credit; however, most consumer indicators remained below the double-digit growth of previous years.
“Employment remains healthy, providing support to the sector,” NBK added.
NBK noted that spending growth on credit and debit cards at point-of-sale machines in Kuwait improved to 12.5% year-on-year in Q3-17, up from -0.7% year-on-year in Q3-16.
“Growth in total spending including ATM withdrawals, which has been slower, has also been improving, accelerating to 8.5% y/y in Q3-17,” NBK said.
During the first nine months of 2017, the contraction in car imports has moderated to a 5% year-on-year decline.
