KUNA : Kuwait’s December trade surplus with Japan almost quadrupled – Economics – 20/01/2022 – Kuwait News Agency

KUNA : Kuwait’s December trade surplus with Japan almost quadrupled – Economics – 20/01/2022 – Kuwait News Agency

TOKYO, Jan 20 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's trade surplus with Japan almost quadrupled from a year earlier to JPY 66. 4 billion (USD 580 million) in December on higher export bills, government data showed Thursday. The surplus surged by 277. 4 percent, up for the ninth consecutive month, and Kuwait posted black ink with Japan for 13 years and 11th months, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. Kuwaiti overall exports to Japan soared 128. 8 percent year-on-year to JPY 78. 7 billion (USD 688 million) for the ninth straight month of expansion. Imports from Japan slid 26. 7 percent to JPY 12. 3 billion (USD 108 million), down for the fourth month in a row. For the whole of 2021, Kuwait logged a trade surplus of JPY 565. 9 billion (USD 4. 9 billion), up 68. 1 percent from the previous year. Middle East's trade surplus with Japan jumped 168. 1 percent to JPY 839. 8 billion (USD 7. 3 billion) last month, with Japan-bound exports from the region inflating 107. 4 percent from a year earlier. Crude oil, refined products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other natural resources, which accounted for 95. 2 percent of the region's total