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NBK sees US Fed rate hike next month - report

KUWAIT, Nov 19 (KUNA) -- The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is predicting that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by the end of the year, amid steady price growth and an unexpected gain in retail sales.
In its economic report issued on Sunday, NBK said that the US economy is closing out the year with strong momentum and is likely to boost wages and inflation, requiring the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the third time this year.
Meanwhile, the NBK report showed that the divergence between short and long-term US treasury yields caused the yield curve to flatten to a 10-year low last Wednesday after a slight pickup in inflation.
On the European front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the growth rate will increase by 2.4 percent this year, as compared to 1.7 percent in the previous year, while a "disorderly Brexit" could result in significantly lower growth for both Britain and the Euro zone.
It added that the British economy still faces low unemployment rate and frail wage growth, as the unemployment rate has remained constant at a 42-year low of 4.3 percent, while earnings including bonuses have risen by 2.2 percent annually. (end) mfs.nam