Mubasher: Kuwait’s trade balance surplus levelled down 3.3% year-on-year in January, the GCC nation’s Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) said in a report.
Trade surplus amounted to KWD 714.5 million ($2.35 billion) in January, compared to KWD 739 million ($2.43 billion) in the same month a year earlier, the state-run statistics agency added.
Year-on-year, Kuwait’s exports fell 7.5% to KWD 1.621 billion, from KWD 1.751 billion in January 2018.
The Arab country’s imports tumbled 10.5% year-on-year to KWD 906.51 million in January, compared to KWD 1.012 billion.
Mineral fuel topped the list of exports with KWD 1.489 billion, followed by organic chemical products at a value of KWD 41 million.
Kuwait’s exports to its GCC neighbours grew 5.2% to KWD 50 million in January, from KWD 47.6 million in the prior-year period.
At the level of imports, Kuwait imported cars at KWD 121.6 million and equipment worth KWD 108.7 million in the first month of 2019.
From January to December 2018, the oil-rich nation’s trade balance surplus surged 68.3% to KWD 10.932 billion, from KWD 6.494 billion in 2017.
