Average inflation in Kuwait

Measures the change in prices of a representative basket of goods and services bought by Kuwaiti households. Compiled by Kuwait's Central Statistical Bureau, it is the country's main gauge of inflation.

Built from a regular price survey across retail outlets nationwide, weighting each item by its share of household spending on an index with a base year of 100. It is released as an annual (YoY) and monthly (MoM) rate of change.

Inflation shapes purchasing power and domestic demand in oil-reliant Kuwait. It is a reference for the Central Bank of Kuwait, whose dinar is pegged to an undisclosed currency basket, which limits its room for independent monetary policy.

It captures only the selected basket, not the whole economy, and state subsidies on energy and staples cushion price swings. Underlying trends are better read through core inflation, which strips out energy and fresh food.