Mubasher: Kuwait’s trade surplus with Japan shrank by 57.9% to 28.4 billion Japanese yen (JPY) ($259 million), the second monthly decline in a row, in November, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said.
This came as Kuwaiti exports to Japan dropped by 43.1% year-on-year to $434 million last November, while imports from Japan jumped by 19.1% to $175 million, KUNA said, citing initial trade figures from Japan’s Ministry of Finance.
Japan’s trade surplus with the broader Middle East also contracted by 41.2% to $4.5 billion last month, with exports to the world’s third largest economy falling by 31.8%.
A breakdown of exports would show that crude oil, refined products and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which account for 96.1% of total Middle East’s exports to Japan, fell by 32.2%.
On the other hand, Japanese exports to the region rose by 7.2%, led mainly by robust demand for automobiles and steel.
