Brazil: Current account deficit narrows in March
Brazil’s current account balance came in at a deficit of USD 494 million in March, a smaller shortfall than the USD 666 million deficit recorded in the same month of 2018.
The improvement was primarily due to a lower services bill which fell by over 25% from the same month last year. Meanwhile, the trade surplus actually deteriorated, dropping from USD 6.0 billion in March 2018 to USD 4.5 billion in March of this year. Contracting exports due to depressed demand from Argentina and iron ore production halts following the Vale dam disaster drove the decline. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment came in at USD 6.8 billion in March, below March 2018’s USD 7.8 billion.
The 12-month trailing current account deficit hit USD 13.7 billion in March, a smaller shortfall than February’s USD 13.9 billion deficit. March’s result is equal to approximately 0.7% of GDP.