Brazil: Current account surplus narrows in June
Brazil’s current account balance came in at a surplus of USD 435 million in June, below the USD 1.3 billion surplus registered in the same month last year.
The narrower current account surplus was primarily due to a lower trade balance, which came in at USD 5.9 billion in June (June 2017: USD 7.2 billion). Soaring import growth was chiefly behind the lower trade balance, after a truckers’ strike had disrupted economic activity in May. Foreign direct investment came in at USD 6.5 billion in June, above June 2017’s USD 4.0 billion.
The 12-month accumulative current account deficit widened in June to USD 13.9 billion from May’s USD 13.0 billion deficit. June’s result represented approximately 0.7% of GDP.