Economic Research

Kuwait: Resilient business credit growth and improving household lending in Q2

Kuwait: Investment segment leads real estate rebound in Q2 2025

Kuwait: GDP returns to growth in Q1 2025 as impact of oil output cuts fades

Kuwait’s external current account surplus remained huge in 2024, despite narrowing for the second straight year to reach 29% of GDP, mainly on lower oil exports.

Kuwait: Preliminary official estimates show GDP declining 0.7% y/y in Q4 2024 as an annual decline in oil output more than offset a robust expansion in the non-oil economy. 

Kuwait: In continuation of the trend seen in late 2024, domestic credit growth was solid in Q1 (+1.6%), driving up the y/y increase to 4.4%. 

Kuwait: Real estate sales fell back in Q1 2025, albeit from strong levels at the end of last year and potentially affected by seasonal factors including the month of Ramadan and Al-Fitr holiday.

US: The “reciprocal” tariffs that were imposed by President Trump exceeded the market’s expectation by a wide margin and were based on an arbitrary formula. 

Saudi Arabia: Non-oil economic growth averaged an impressive 4.8% in 2021-24, driven by unprecedented government-led investment in key strategic sectors as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 development plan.

US: President Trump’s actual imposition of trade tariffs has so far been less than threatened during the election campaign.

The Kuwait government recently approved the draft FY25/26 budget, which projects a wider deficit of KD6.3 billion (13% of GDP), from KD 5.6 billion in the FY24/25 budget. 

Kuwait: Real estate sales witnessed a broad-based improvement across all segments in Q4 2024, amid stronger demand in the investment and commercial segments especially.

Kuwait's domestic credit ended the year on a strong note, increasing by a solid 1.2% in Q4, driving up 2024 growth to 3.7% following a multi-year low of 1.7% in 2023. 

US: President-elect Trump will be inaugurated on 20 January, with an aggressive policy agenda that includes higher trade tariffs, tax cuts, and deregulation across some sectors.

Kuwait: Preliminary data show GDP fell in Q3 2024, but historical figures revised stronger