São Paulo – Brazil had a USD 4.578 billion trade surplus in July, the widest number since July 2006. It came as a result of USD 16.331 billion in exports and USD 11.752 billion in imports, the Ministry of Development, Industry and Services reported this Monday (1).
Average daily exports were down 3.5% from July 2015. Basic goods exports slid 14.7%, especially copper ore, coffee, iron ore, poultry, pork, soy, beef, maize, soy bran, and crude oil.
Semi-finished goods exports climbed 10.1% driven by raw sugar, semi-finished gold, cast iron, ferroalloys and timber.
Finished goods sales were up 7.3%, particularly oil rigs, flexible iron or steel hoses, refined sugar, ground levelers, ethanol, tires, taps and valves, cargo vehicles, passenger cars, car engines, and car parts.
Average daily imports were down 20.3% in July from a year ago, with reduced purchases of fuels and lubricants, consumer goods, capital goods, and intermediate goods.
Year-to-date record
From January through July, Brazil had a USD 28.23 billion surplus, the highest for this period since record-taking began in 1989.
Exports reached USD 106.583 billion, down 5.6% from January to July 2015 based on average daily numbers. Imports stood at USD 78.353 billion, down 27.6%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
