Kuwait's annual inflation slowed to a 16-month low of 4.2 percent in November with prices unchanged from the previous month, data showed on Monday, and analysts expect price growth to remain at around current levels in the coming months. Inflation in the world's No 6 oil exporter had been decelerating since it climbed to a peak of 5.4 percent in May as the impact of higher food prices and government social handouts faded away. It picked up slightly to 4.8 percent in October.
"It is along the lines of expectations. We had an inflationary impulse earlier last year partly because of the global commodity prices, especially food prices, partly because of the increased government spending," said Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist at National Commercial Bank in Jeddah.
In November, housing costs, which account for more than a quarter of consumer expenses, remained flat month-on-month for the second month in a row, the data released by the Gulf Arab country's Central Statistics Office showed. The pace of monthly food price increases slowed to a five-month low of 0.1 percent in November from 0.3 percent in the previous month, while transport costs edged up by 0.2 percent, the data also showed.
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