Brasília – The cheaper US dollar in March and April may have influenced spending by Brazilians in foreign trips, according to the head of the Brazilian Central Bank’s Economic Department, Tulio Maciel. Spending by Brazilians on international travel stood at US$ 2.344 billion in April, the highest sum ever recorded by the Central Bank. In April last year, US$ 2.096 billion were spent.
Year-to-date through April, spending reached another all-time high at US$ 8.218 billion, as against US$ 8.080 billion in the same period of 2013. Maciel also said it is too early to tell whether foreign spending is on an upward trend or was a one-off occurrence. He noted that in quarter one, spending declined in two month-on-month comparisons.
“Spending has cooled off since October last year, but not in April. This is probably due to a fluctuation in exchange rate,” he said.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
