Tokyo, Jan. 19 (BNA): Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan jumped 27.7 percent from a year earlier to 84.8 billion yen (663 million US dollars) in December, up for the 21st consecutive month, as exports continued to outpace imports, it showed. Government data. Thursday.
The Ministry of Finance said in a preliminary report that Kuwait had been in black ink with Japan for 14 years and 11 months. Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported that total exports from Kuwait to Japan rose 40.4 percent year-on-year to reach 110.5 billion Japanese yen (865 million US dollars) for the 21st consecutive month of expansion.
Imports from Japan rose 109.4% to 25.8 billion yen (202 million US dollars), up for the eighth consecutive month. For the whole of 2022, Kuwait recorded a trade surplus of 1.1 trillion yen (8.6 billion US dollars), up 95.1 percent from the previous year. Kuwait’s exports to Japan increased by 80.3 percent to 1.3 trillion yen (10.3 billion US dollars), while imports grew by 28.6 percent to 208.2 billion yen (1.6 billion US dollars) last year.
The Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan widened 21.7 percent to 1.0 trillion yen ($8.0 billion) in December, with exports bound for Japan from the region swelling 60.6 percent from a year earlier.
Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas and other natural resources, which accounted for 96.2 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, swelled by 30.5 percent. The region’s total imports from Japan rose 29.1 percent, thanks to strong demand for automobiles, machinery and steel.
The world’s third-largest economy posted a global trade deficit in December for the 17th consecutive month at 1.4 trillion yen (11.3 billion USD), as rising energy bills and a depreciating yen contributed to an increase in the value of its imports. The figure was the largest for the month of December since comparative data became available in 1979. Exports were up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, helped by sales of automobiles, machinery and mineral fuels. But imports increased by 20.6 percent as energy prices rose, especially coal, crude oil and liquefied natural gas. China remained Japan’s largest trading partner, followed by the United States.
For the whole of 2022, Japan recorded 20.0 trillion (US$156.2 billion) in red ink due to rising energy and raw materials, reaching a record high. Exports grew 18.2 percent, while imports jumped 39.2 percent last year. Trade data is measured on a customs clearance basis before adjusting for seasonal factors.
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