Kuwait - Mubasher: Kuwaiti trade surplus expanded for the first time in a year in the second quarter of 2016, though it remains at historically low levels, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in a recent report.
This comes amid a healthy bounce in oil prices. The surplus widened from KWD 0.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016 to KWD 1.2 billion in 2Q16, as a pickup in oil prices helped push oil export earnings higher.
The average oil price continued to edge upwards in 3Q16, and NBK expects the surplus to widen slightly further during the same period, according to the report.
Oil export revenues rose from KWD 2.4 billion in Q1-16 to KWD 3.2 billion in Q2-16, with the price of Kuwait export crude (KEC) going up by 48% quarter-on-quarter in Q2-16, rising from an average of $27 per barrel in Q1-16 to $40 in Q2-16.
NBK expects to see oil export earnings to continue to edge higher as well.
Non-oil export revenues also improved from the previous quarter, though they were down by 23% year-on-year, it rose by 5% after ethylene prices rebounded, rising by 11% quarter-on-quarter.
According to the report, NBC expects non-oil export earnings to continue to rise on a quarterly basis, as ethylene prices continued to log in positive growth.
Capital and industrial goods imports witnessed double digit growth, likely reflecting the government’s improved implementation of its development projects. Imports of capital goods, which are a good gauge of the level of investment in the economy, and industrial goods, rose by 12% and 16% respectively, the report concluded.
