Kuwait Economy in 2017 – Overview and Forecasts by KAMCO
“The economy here is highly dependent on oil, oil production, and oil prices, and it has a high correlation with the energy markets. We expect the Kuwait economy to grow between 2.5 to 3 percent, this year. But, it must be examined in the overall international context. The world economy is expected to grow at around 3 to 4 percent,” says Faisal Hasan, Chief Business Development Officer and Head of Investment Research Department at KAMCO.
“The economy here is highly dependent on oil, oil production, and oil prices, and it has a high correlation with the energy markets. We expect the Kuwait economy to grow between 2.5 to 3 percent, this year. But, it must be examined in the overall international context. The world economy is expected to grow at around 3 to 4 percent,” says Faisal Hasan, Chief Business Development Officer and Head of Investment Research Department at KAMCO.
“We are now seeing a new “normal,” where economic growth will be not as high as it was in the last ten years. Overall, we feel that the non-oil economic growth is going to outperform the oil economic growth. OPEC has implemented production cuts in order to stabilize oil prices, and Kuwait will be adhering to those cuts. That will have an effect on the real GDP growth because Kuwait is such a highly energy dependent economy. It all depends on how the oil markets behave. We expect oil prices to be in the range of 50 to 60 dollars a barrel, which is good when considering that the breakeven price of Kuwait is among the lowest in the GCC region. The budgetary support that the oil prices can give provides a cushion to the economy.”