Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan almost quadrupled from a year earlier to JPY 66.4 billion (USD 580 million) in December on higher export bills, government data showed Thursday.

The surplus surged by 277.4 percent, up for the ninth consecutive month, and Kuwait posted black ink with Japan for 13 years and 11th months, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan soared 128.8 percent year-on-year to JPY 78.7 billion (USD 688 million) for the ninth straight month of expansion. Imports from Japan slid 26.7 percent to JPY 12.3 billion (USD 108 million), down for the fourth month in a row. For the whole of 2021, Kuwait logged a trade surplus of JPY 565.9 billion (USD 4.9 billion), up 68.1 percent from the previous year.

Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan jumped 168.1 percent to JPY 839.8 billion (USD 7.3 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region inflating 107.4 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 95.2 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, grew 110.1 percent. The region’s overall imports from Japan also rose 5.4 percent on demand for machinery, manufactured goods and electrical machinery.

Japan posted a global trade deficit of 582.4 billion (USD 5.4 billion) in December for the fifth consecutive month of red ink, as surging energy prices pushed up the value of its imports.

Exports from the world’s third-biggest economy rose 17.5 percent from the year before, thanks to robust shipments of automobiles to the US and steel to South Korea.

Imports jumped 41.1 percent on higher bills of crude oil, LNG and coal. China remained Japan’s biggest trade partner, followed by the US. The trade data are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustment for seasonal factors.

Source: Kuwait News Agency