Mubasher: Net foreign assets in Kuwait’s banking sector fell 2.9% year-on-year in December, according to the Central Bank of Kuwait’s (CBK) monthly bulletin released Monday.

Annual net foreign assets fell to KWD 16.50 billion ($54.98 billion) in December from KWD 16.99 billion in the same period a year earlier.

On a monthly basis, net foreign assets hit their highest level since July 2017, rising by 3.6% from KWD 15.92 billion in November, the CBK said.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti central bank’s gross assets rose by 5.5% to KWD 9.56 billion in December, their highest level since June 2017 compared with KWD 9.06 billion in the same month a year earlier.

Net assets in local Kuwaiti banks increased by 3.4% to KWD 62.47 billion from KWD 60.44 billion in December 2016.