Kuwait's economy has grown at the fastest rate of expansion since the 1990 Gulf War, while the country's fiscal position has strengthened on the back of strong crude oil prices and production, the IMF said in a report.

Real gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 8.5 per cent through 2003 and 2004, 'its highest pace in the preceding decade and a half,' the IMF said in its Executive Board 2005 Article IV Consultation report.
'Kuwait's macroeconomic performance strengthened further in 2003 and 2004, reflecting sharply higher oil prices and production.'
The report provided no export revenue figure for 2004, but put 2003 crude export revenue at $19.04-billion, up from $14.06-billion in 2002.
'The central government budgetary position remained strong in 2003/04 and 2004/05 due to significantly higher oil revenues, with annual fiscal surpluses at about 20 per cent of GDP,' the IMF report said.
'The stance of the fiscal policy was expansionary, as a large part of the higher oil revenue was spent on various government programmes.'
The emirate's external current account surplus has more than doubled over the two-year period to 29 per cent of GDP in 2004.
'Exports grew at an annual rate of 33.6 per cent due to a surge in oil and non-oil exports, the latter supported by a sharp increase in exports and re-exports to Iraq,' the IMF said.
The IMF also said some progress had been made on structural reform, although at a slow pace.
'The Foreign Investment Law and the associated by-laws are in place, allowing foreigners to own up to 100 per cent of Kuwaiti companies in listed sectors,' the report said.
A draft privatisation law and an amendment to the tax law to lower the corporate income tax that applies only to foreign companies from 55 per cent to 25 per cent wait for parliamentary approval.
'Directors agreed that, with oil prices likely to remain firm over the medium term, Kuwait's medium-term outlook has improved and is likely to remain favourable, supported by fiscal and current account surpluses, and low inflation,' the IMF said.
Meanwhile, Kuwait is expected to post a record budget surplus of up to KD5.29 billion ($18 billion) in the fiscal year which ends March 2006 thanks to high oil prices, the country's leading bank said in a report.
National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in the report by chief economist Randa Azar-Khoury that based on various oil price scenarios it expects Kuwait's Export Crude (KEC) to range between $37.4 a barrel to $46.1 a barrel during the fiscal year.
That means Kuwait's oil revenues would come in between KD9.71 billion and KD11.89 billion, the bank added.
With actual government expenditures at five per cent to eight per cent below the projected KD6.95 billion according to NBK's estimates, 'the country would reap a budget surplus between KD3.31 billion and KD5.29 billion,' NBK said.
'NBK's base-case scenario where KEC averages $42.3 yields a surplus of KD4.48 billion ($15.3 billion),' the bank added.
An NBK report in March projected Kuwait would post a record surplus in the neighbourhood of KD2.63 billion for fiscal year 2004-2005 that ended that month. That projection was based on a price for Kuwait Export Crude of about $34 per barrel.
Oil sales account for up to 90 per cent of state revenues in tiny Kuwait and about half of the GDP of Kuwait which controls just about 10 per cent of global petroleum reserves.