Brasília – The rise in imports decreased Brazil’s trade surplus for the second consecutive month. According to data released this Wednesday (02) by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), Brazil had a surplus of USD 6.142 in April, down 11.8% over the same month of 2017.
In the year’s first four months, the country has a surplus of USD 20.09 billion, down 6% over the same period of last year. Despite the decline, the numbers are the second best ever, for both April and the first four months.
Last month, exports totaled USD 19.932 billion, down 3.4% over April of 2017 by the daily average. All the categories of products have seen a drop. Sales of finished products went down 4%, with basic goods falling 2.9% and semi-finished products declining 2.4%.
Meanwhile, imports totaled USD 13.79 billion, up 10.1% over April of last year by the daily average. Purchases of capital goods increased 36.2%, with consumption goods going up 12.2%, and intermediary goods, fuels and lubricants surging 6.32%.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
