KUWAIT: The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said that it had developed a questionnaire for the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). The index enables prompt data collection, processing, and analysis to be produced in the form of timely and accurate periodic reports reflecting the real developments of economic activity in Kuwait. This came in a press statement by the Governor of the CBK, Basel A Al-Haroon, announcing that the success of this initiative will be the outcome of the collaboration between the CBK and the respondents from the various Kuwaiti economic sectors.

The prominence of the PMI resides in its ability to assess the progress of economic performance with precision due to its periodicity (on a monthly basis). PMI is usually issued before the release of official data on macroeconomic variables to help economists and stakeholders predict economic trends in Kuwait. In addition, PMI is considered one of the most significant economic data points in the global markets for better understanding of the different economies’ and markets’ trends. Consequently, many central banks employ the index to make monetary policy decisions.

The CBK PMI’s results are drawn up in a questionnaire that includes nine index-related closed-ended questions, one closed-ended question on expectations of business prospects at the local and global levels, and four open-ended questions. All these questions are addressed to the purchasing managers of a different group of Kuwait-based companies engaged in production and service activities.

In addition, PMI, which is scheduled to open in October 2023, exhibits the trends or changes in the given activity in September 2023. The index’s trends and results shall not be published and shall be for internal use only during the pilot phase (six months), to be re-assessed before being made available to the public. The pilot index will be applied to a small sample of carefully selected companies. - KUNA