Brasília – Rising oil exports were the main factor that prevented the Brazilian trade deficit, in January, to be even greater than recorded in the same month of last year. In January, Brazil imported US$ 166 million more than it exported.
This was the first monthly trade deficit of the last 12 months. In January of last year, the deficit had been US$ 529 million. The reduction in the deficit occurred because exports increased by 21.3% compared with January 2009, whereas imports grew by 16.8%.
Last month, Brazil exported US$ 1 billion in oil, as against US$ 325 million in January 2009. The result contributed for exports to record a daily average of US$ 565.3 million last month.
In terms of volume, foreign sales of oil also increased, from 384,000 barrels per day, in January 2009, to 462,000 barrels per day last month.
According to the Foreign Trade secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Welber Barral, the main contributing factor to rising exports of the product was its price recovery in the international market.
“It is important to note that in January last year, the barrel of oil had reached its lowest price level since the crisis began. Thus, exports were mainly driven by the recovery of international prices,” said the secretary. In the last 12 months, according to the ministry, the price of oil increased by 144%.
If oil exports were excluded, then the trade deficit would have increased in January. According to calculations presented by Barral, average daily exports last month would have risen by 10.3% in case sales of oil barrels were not taken into account. “The rate is in keeping with the growth that we expect in terms of exports in 2010,” he stated.
In November, the ministry announced that the export target for 2010 will be US$ 168 million. The figure is 10% greater than the US$ 154 million in accumulated foreign sales from November 2008 and November 2009.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
