Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan down 45 percent

Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan plunged 45.0 percent from a year earlier to JPY 28.9 billion ($254 million) in December, shrinking for the second month as exports declined, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. But Kuwait maintained black ink with Japan for eight years and 11 months, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan fell 41.2 percent year-on-year to JPY 44.6 billion ($393 million) for the second straight monthly drop, and imports from Japan also shrank 32.6 percent to JPY 15.7 billion ($139 million), down for the fourth month in a row. For the whole of 2016, Kuwait posted a trade surplus of 276.8 billion ($2.4 billion), down 49.7 percent from the previous year.

Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan expanded by 10.6 percent to JPY 453.2 billion ($4.0 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region falling 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 96.1 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, decreased 3.9 percent. The region’s overall imports from Japan tumbled 24.6 percent, chiefly due to weak shipments of automobile, machinery and electric equipment.

The world’s third-biggest economy posted a global trade surplus of JPY 641.4 billion ($5.6 billion) in December, marking a fourth straight month of black, reflecting a steep fall in LNG import prices. Overall exports rose 5.4 percent from the year before, buoyed by strong shipments of auto parts to the US and auto and electronics parts to China. Imports declined 2.6 percent, with value of LNG falling nearly by a quarter.

In the full year 2016, Japan returned to a trade surplus in six years at JPY 4.074 trillion ($35.8 billion), thanks to lower energy prices and improved exports. Japan’s trade balance slipped into deficit after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster caused by the earthquake-tsunami disaster, which boosted fossil fuel imports for conventional power generators. The trade data are measured on a customs-cleared basis before adjustment for seasonal factors. — KUNA