CBK: Kuwait's money supply fell 1.2% in August

Money supply (M2) in Kuwait declined in August, for the third month in a row, by 1.2 percent to KD 31.17 billion compared to that of July, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) revealed Friday. In the Monthly Monetary Statistics bulletin, released by its Economic Research Department, the CBK added that the private sector's deposits at the national banks in local currency slumped by 0.7 percent to stand at KD 26.95 billion compared with that of July while those in foreign currency slipped by 2.6 percent to reach the equivalent of KD 28.08 billion. The bulletin, from which a copy was sent to KUNA, pointed out that the local banks claims on CBK, like CBK bonds purchased by the local banks, nosedived by 2.7 percent to KD 1.9 billion. Total assets of local banks declined by 0.1 percent in the same month to KD 49.50 billion, the CBK data showed. It added that the total net foreign assets dipped by 0.1 percent to KD 6.9 billion, while the time deposits with the CBK retreated by 8.7 percent to KD 25.22 billion. Moreover, the non-residents deposits in local currency swelled by 8.6 percent to KD 635.5 million and their deposits in foreign currency rose by 7.5 percent to the equivalent of KD 2.22 billion. It also revealed that that the balance of utilized cash credit for residents jumped up by 0.8 percent to KD 28.16 billion, while the average interest rate on treasure bills for one year stood at 1 percent. The CBK disclosed that Kuwaiti imports finance retreated by 19.7 percent to KD 380.3 million and the dollar exchange rate dropped by 0.5 percent to 284 fils.