A decline in Kuwait’s economy in current and real prices in the third quarter of 2023 shows it remains addicted to volatile oil sales despite government promises to diversify sources of income, according to a Kuwaiti think-tank.

The OPEC member’s GDP in current prices dipped by around 11.7 percent to 12.7 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($41.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2023 from KWD14.4 billion ($47.5 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, Al-Shal Centre said in a report at the weekend.

The report, citing government data, showed Kuwait’s real GDP also shrank by nearly 3.7 percent in the same period.

“The decline in real GDP and in current prices was due to a downturn in the oil sector, which plunged by nearly 22.1 percent in current prices and 9 percent in real terms…this is an indication that the country’s economy remains addicted to oil despite the long series of promises by the government for diversification,” it said.

The report noted that Kuwait, which controls the world’s sixth largest proven oil deposits, reduced its crude output by 263,000bpd in 2023 while oil prices were down 15.6 percent.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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