Kuwait inflation drops to 2.6%

Inflation in the consumer price index (CPI) edged down to 2.6% year-over-year (yoy) in November, from 2.7% in October, the National Bank of Kuwait weekly report stated. This small move masked some notable changes within the sub-components: another sharp fall in food price inflation was almost offset by a rise in 'core' price pressures, according to Kuwait's (KUNA) News Agency. It is expect that core pressures to continue to edge higher; however, the overall inflation rate is still forecast to average a modest 3.0% through 2014, up from 2.6% in 2013. The report noted that food price inflation fell to 2.4% yoy from 3.5% in October, its sixth consecutive monthly decline. Given the component's large weight in the CPI (18%), this move subtracted some 0.2% points from the overall inflation rate in November.