Kuwait asks supermarkets to report prices

MARKET REPORTS: Supermarkets in Kuwait have been asked by the government to report their prices in an effort to monitor unjustified hikes. (Getty Images)

Kuwait's government has asked a local supermarket chain to submit monthly reports on prices of goods as part of an effort to tame inflation in the Gulf oil exporter, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Al-Watan newspaper said in an unsourced report that cooperative societies, which have branches in every district in the country, are required to report prices of both food and non-food items, to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The government also gave the ministry greater powers to monitor prices to take tougher action against importers who increase prices without a justification.

Inflation in Kuwait, the only state in the Gulf region that does not peg its currency to the weak dollar, hit a record 9.5 percent in January as housing costs rose 16.1% and food prices jumped 7.7%.

RELATED: Kuwait inflation to 'normalise' minister claims.

Last month, the central bank tightened rules on consumer lending to try to rein inflation.

Kuwait increased subsidies on some food items and building materials such as steel and cement to control "unjustified" rise in prices, the state news agency reported in February. (Reutrers)

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