Kuwait trade surplus with Japan in December reaches $1bn

Kuwait's trade surplus with Japan narrowed 4.4 percent in December to JPY 107.3 billion (USD 1 billion) from a year earlier, shrinking for the first time in three months. Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, quotes Japan's Finance Ministry as saying, in a preliminary report, that overall Kuwaiti exports to Japan edged down 0.3 percent to JPY 130.0 billion (USD 1.3 billion) for the first decline in three months, and imports from Japan gained 25.3 percent year-on-year to JPY 22.7 billion (USD 222 million), up for the eighth straight month. The Middle East trade surplus with Japan jumped 21.2 percent to JPY 1.280 trillion (USD 12.5 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region rising 21.5 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 97.8 percent of the region's total exports to Japan, rose 20.8 percent on the year. The region's overall imports from Japan went up 22.8 percent, thanks to robust shipments of automobiles, machinery, and steel