Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan up 1st time in 4 months

TOKYO: Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier to JPY 50.9 billion ($469 million) in September, expanding for the first time in four months thanks to improving exports, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. Kuwait recorded black ink with Japan for 11 years and eight months, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan grew 0.9 percent to JPY 65.0 billion ($598 million) for the first increase in four months. Imports from Japan plunged 21.0 percent year-on-year to JPY 14.0 billion ($129 million), down for the seventh month in a row. Middle East’s trade surplus with Japan shrank 21.2 percent to JPY 469.6 billion ($4.3 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region declining 13.6 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 95.9 percent of the region’s total exports to Japan, fell 13.5 percent. The region’s overall imports from Japan increased 8.5 percent, buoyed by strong demand for automobiles, steel, machinery and electric equipment. The world’s third-biggest economy posted a global trade deficit of JPY 123.0 billion ($1.1 billion) in September for the third straight month of red ink on sluggish shipments to China and South Korea. Exports slid 5.2 percent from the year before chiefly due to weak demand for auto parts to China and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to South Korea. Imports decreased 1.5 percent on lower energy bills, including crude oil from Saudi Arabia. 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.