Kuwait’s non-oil sector business growth marginally slowed in December, as rates of expansion in new orders and outputs eased slightly from last month, according to S&P Global’s Kuwait PMI (pdf). The country’s headline figure slipped to 54.1 in December, down from 55.9 in November, still holding well above the 50.0 mark for healthy growth. The figure is still the third-highest on record since the survey launched in 2018.

REMEMBER- The all-important 50.0 mark is the threshold separating contraction from growth. Anything above 50 denotes expansion, while anything below indicates contraction.

New orders continued to surge, albeit at a slightly slower pace, buoyed by effective advertising, price discounts, and an influx of visitors attending the Arabian Gulf Cup. New export orders also continued to rise this month, and output increased at the third-strongest pace on record. Purchasing activity rose sharply and input stock spiked in response to a steady flow of incoming new orders.

Output costs eased for the first time in 16 months as firms looked to remain competitive, offering discounted prices. This was despite a significant increase in input costs, with prices on the uptick for a range of items including advertising, machinery spare parts, stationery, and transportation. Staff costs also grew, but only moderately and at the slowest pace in three months.

Hiring rose for the third month running in December in efforts to address rising workloads, yet eased in comparison to November. Staff shortages resulted in sluggish output times, causing a third consecutive accumulation of work backlogs this month. Suppliers’ delivery times decreased to their lowest level in six months.

Carrying a positive outlook into 2025: Kuwait maintained an optimistic outlook for the next year, with confidence buoyed by marketing plans and competitive pricing. Sentiment jumped up for the fourth month running and was the sharpest increase measured since June.

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