Kuwait may trade surplus with Japan nearly doubled to $433m

Exports to Tokyo surges; imports grow

TOKYO, June 19, (KUNA): Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan nearly doubled to JPY 48.2 billion ($433 million) from a year earlier in May, as exports remained strong, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The surplus jumped by 95.7 percent, up for the fifth month in a row, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan surged 66.1 percent year-on-year to JPY 61.1 billion ($549 million) for the fifth consecutive month of expansion. Imports from Japan also grew 5.9 percent to JPY 12.8 billion ($116 million), up for the first time in nine months. Kuwait maintained monthly black ink with Japan for nine years and four months.

Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan also jumped 47.3 percent to JPY 468.8 billion ($4.2 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region rising 24.1 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 94.5 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, increased 24.2 percent. The region’s overall imports from Japan declined 16.9 percent, due to weaker demand for vehicle and machinery.

The world’s third-biggest economy logged a global deficit of JPY 203.4 billion ($1.8 billion million) in May, slipping back into the red for the first time in four months, as soaring energy costs offset a pick-up in exports, according to the ministry. Exports grew 14.9 percent from the year before, while imports jumped 17.8 percent, with the value of crude oil surging 32.3 percent. 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.