Press Releases

H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, the Governor, has announced the parity rate of the Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) exchange rate against the US Dollar for the first day of business in January 2003 corresponding to Sunday 5 January 2003. This rate is set at 299.63 fils per dollar with a margin of ±3.5%. This announcement came in accordance with the Decree No. 266/2002 that stipulates pegging the KD exchange rate to the US Dollar within margins around a parity rate as of the beginning of the year 2003. H.E. the Governor explained that the KD exchange rate against the US Dollar after the 5th of January 2003 shall not exceed 310.11 fils / dollar and shall not fall below 289.14 fils / dollar. He said that this parity rate was determined by the same principles and considerations used historically by CBK to determine the KD exchange rate under the system of the currency basket to ensure a smooth change from the currency basket peg to the dollar peg within margins.

H.E. the Governor stressed that the margins that were set around the parity rate were to ensure adequate relative flexibility for the KD exchange rate that would facilitate its overall stability against world currencies, while taking into consideration the characteristics of the Kuwaiti economy and its trade and financial relations with the outside world. It would also help absorb the occasional sharp fluctuations in the exchange rates of major currencies in world markets.