Agência Brasil*
Brasília – The Brazilian trade balance surplus – the difference between exports and imports – reached US$ 882 million in February this year, less than one third of the trade balance surplus in the same period last year (US$ 2.899 billion). The figures were disclosed today (03) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The reduction in the trade balance surplus is explained by the greater growth of imports than of exports. In the last month, with 19 working days, exports totalled US$ 12.8 billion, whereas in the same period last year the total was US$ 10.129 billion. In the case of imports, the total was US$ 11.918 billion, against US$ 7.230 billion in February 2007.
In the fifth week of February 2008, exports totalled US$ 2.981 billion and imports, US$ 3.075 billion, a trade balance deficit of US$ 94 million.
In the 41 working days of this year, the trade balance surplus has reached US$ 1.826 billion, with a daily average of US$ 44.5 million. In the year, exports have reached US$ 126.077 billion and imports, US$ 24.251 billion. In 2007, the trade balance surplus in the same period was US$ 5.415 billion, with exports of US$ 21.113 billion and imports of US$ 15.698 billion.
*Translated by Mark Ament
