São Paulo – The Brazilian trade balance showed a US$ 186 million deficit in November, as a result of US$ 20.472 billion in exports and US$ 20.658 billion in imports, according to information released this Monday (3rd) by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. It was the second month with a deficit this year, the first having been January. In November 2011, a US$ 571 million surplus was recorded.
Foreign sales were down by nearly 6% from November last year. Exports of semi-manufactured goods were down 14% on average per working day, driven by raw soya oil, crude aluminium, cast iron, semi-manufactured iron and steel products, raw sugar, and wood pulp.
Exports of basic items were down 12%, driven by soya bean, iron ore, tobacco leaves, poultry, and raw cotton.
Exports of manufactured goods were up 5%, driven by the delivery of an oil rig and rising sales of fuel oils, aircraft, flat rolled steel sheets, refined sugar, ethanol, and compressor pumps.
Imports, in turn, were down by nearly 2.6% from November 2012. There was a decline in imports of consumer goods (17.1%), capital good (11.5%), raw materials and intermediate goods (4.9%). On the other hand, fuels and lubricants imports were up 32.1%.
The Middle East was the supplying region to Brazil whose sales increased the most, at 146.8%, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The result was driven by crude oil, fertilizers, chemicals, aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals, optical and precision instruments, household appliances, glass products, and ceramics products.
Year-to-date, Brazilian exports reached US$ 222.832 billion, down 4.7% from the same period in 2011. Imports stood at US$ 205.647 billion, down 1.1% using the same basis of comparison. In the 11-month period ended November, the country posted a trade surplus of US$ 17.185 billion, as against nearly US$ 26 billion in the same period of last year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
