Kuwait's oil exports fell to $109bn in 2013

Kuwait's oil exports edged down to KD 30.8 billion (USD 109.5 billion) in 2013, a slight dip of three percent compared with the earlier year's figures, a recent economic report showed here on Saturday. The drop is a result of dwindling oil prices following a fall in international oil prices in 2013 triggered off by huge oil production by non-OPEC members and moderate world demand for oil, said the report released by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). Kuwait's oil prices averaged USD 105 per barrel (pb) in 2013, four dollars lower than 2012, and non-oil exports shot up to KD 1.9 billion (USD 6.75 billion) though they still make up just six percent of the oil-rich Gulf country's total exports, KUNA said quoting the NBK report. The hike was buoyed by a 16 percent rise in ethylene exports compared to an earlier year partly due to expansion in the petrochemical industry, the report indicated. Comparatively, Kuwaiti imports stood at nine percent in 2013 to KD 8.3 billion (USD 29.5 billion), the NBK-compiled report showed. Kuwait's trade balance surplus consequently edged down to KD 24.3 billion (USD 86.4 billion) in 2013 following a retreat from its highest-ever level of 25.7 percent in 2012, it added.