26/04/2012 14:01 AST
Kuwait's current account surplus surged 78 percent in 2011 mainly thanks to a jump in exports, the Gulf Arab country's central bank said on Wednesday.
The current account of one of the world's top oil exporters booked a surplus of 19.53 billion Kuwaiti dinars (70.3 billion US dollars) in 2011, or 54.8 percent of 2010 gross domestic product, compared to 10.98 billion in 2010, or 30.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), it said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Kuwait's current account surplus to reach 35.2 percent of GDP in 2011 and 33.6 percent of GDP this year.
"That increase...was mainly an outcome of the rise in the surplus of the balance of goods," the central bank said, adding that it soared by 66.7 percent on an annual basis.
It has not yet released 2011 GDP data for the member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) economy.
Growth in the net value of Kuwaiti residents' assets abroad also accelerated during 2011, the central bank said.
Taking into account the net value of external assets of some government institutions and the central bank's own reserves, the account showed an overall surplus of KD 13.46 billion compared to a KD 10.48 billion surplus in 2010.
In more news, trading ended at Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) Wednesday on a mixed board, though main indices were green. The price index gained 8.9 points to reach 6,326.5 points, while the weighted index came to 419.53 points a drop of 1.75 points. Trades came to 5,505 spot transactions worth 38,599,110 Kuwaiti dinars, with 550,860, 000 shares changing hands till end of session.
As for sector indices, there were four readings in green and three in red. Top gainer sector was industrial which put on 40.1 index points, while biggest loser was banking on a down of 85 index points.
Top share for the day was that of Manazel Holding Company, while biggest loser was the Gulf Franchising Holding Company stock. Top-volume share was that of Abyaar Real Estate Development Company.
Meanwhile, trading at Kuwait Stock Exchange starts the day in red with a drop of 2 points, reading 6,325.6 points at 9:39 a.m. Wednesday, while the weighted index came to 420.44 points, down 0.84 points.
Trades came to 1,220 spot transactions, valued at KD 8.6 million and with 113.6 million shares changing hands.
Agencies
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