Agencia Brasil*
Brasília – The Brazilian trade balance registered an US$ 81 million deficit in the fourth week of February (between the 18th and 24th), according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, this was the first negative result since the third week of May 2002 (a deficit of US$ 35 million).
Imports totalled US$ 3.747 billion and exports, US$ 3.666 billion in the period. In the accumulated result for the month, the trade balance surplus was US$ 976 million, with sales of US$ 9.819 billion and purchases of US$ 8.843 billion in 14 working days.
The average of imports in the period was US$ 631.6 million per working day, a result 57.2% greater than that presented in the whole of the month of February 2007, and well above exports, which posted a daily average of US$ 701.4 million and growth of 24.6% in the same comparison.
In the year, the trade balance surplus, up to the fourth week of February, reached US$ 1.920 billion, a daily average drop of 60.5% over the same period in 2007.
Imports reached US$ 23.096 billion and imports, US$ 21.176 billion in 36 working days. Imports grew 51.2% in the same comparison, whereas exports grew 22.4%. The information was published yesterday (25) on the Development Ministry web page.
*Translated by Mark Ament
