16/03/2022
28767 times read
16/03/2022
28767 times read
KUWAIT CITY, March 16: The CEO of the Quorum Center for Strategic Studies and Economic Research Tariq Al-Rifai says the impacts of the current war between Russia and Ukraine on the Kuwaiti economy are significantly negative, reports Al-Anba daily. In an exclusive press statement, he indicated that it is certain that inflation will rise and a severe recession will occur with a decline in the purchasing power. Al-Rifai stressed that the crisis will result in an increase in the demand for food and medical supplies due to the high prices that most products will witness in Kuwait, considering that Kuwait imports most of its needs from abroad.
He explained that the rise in oil prices, which reached nearly $140 per barrel for the first time since 2008, is a positive factor on the local economy, especially the state’s general budget, as the government sector constitutes more than 75 percent of the state’s total economy. The rise in oil prices will contribute to reducing the growth rate of the global economy and the Kuwaiti economy in particular. The coming period will witness a sharp rise in food prices, accompanied by scarcity and a lack of products, as was the situation before the war. This threatens to increase inflation to record levels, similar to what happened during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.