São Paulo – Brazil ran a USD 433 million trade surplus in the third week of November, driving the month-to-date surplus to USD 1.874 billion. Numbers released by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services this Monday (21) also show a USD 40.4 billion year-to-date surplus.
Last week, a four-day week, saw USD 8.94 billion in exports and USD 7.06 billion in imports. Foreign sales averaged at USD 698 million per day, down 11.3% from the preceding week. Foreign purchases averaged at USD 589.9 million a day, up 4.7%.
The drop in exports was primarily due to a 36.3% decline in semi-finished goods sales and an 8.3% drop in finished goods sales. Basic items’ exports were up 0.4%.
To date in November, exports averaged USD 744.7 million per day, up 7.9% from the year-ago period.
Foreign sales increased across all product categories: semi-finished goods exports climbed 22.2% on the back of raw sugar, wood pulp, timber, iron and steel products, leathers and hides, gold and ferroalloys; finished goods exports were up 11.3% driven by automobiles, refined sugar, flexible iron and steel pipes, electric motors and generators, and frozen orange juice; basic goods exports increased by 0.4%, especially tobacco, crude oil, iron ore, pork, coffee beans and raw cotton.
Imports amounted to USD 558.5 million on average per day, down 6.7% from the year-ago period. Products whose purchases went down include fuels and lubricants, fertilizers, mechanical equipment, organic and inorganic chemicals, and optics and precision instruments.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
