Gulf Rate Cuts in Wake of Fed Are Finally Joined by #Kuwait - Bloomberg

Gulf Rate Cuts in Wake of Fed Are Finally Joined by Kuwait - Bloomberg:

Kuwait joined a round of monetary easing in the Gulf for the first time this year as regional central banks followed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cut of a quarter percentage point on Wednesday.

Policy makers in Kuwait lowered borrowing costs for the first time since 2012, after splitting from their neighbors when U.S. rates were cut in July and September. Central banks in the region usually tend to move in lockstep with the Fed to protect their currencies’ peg to the dollar. Kuwait controls the value of its dinar against an undisclosed basket of currencies, meaning it has more flexibility in setting rates.