Brazil: Current account deficit deteriorates to five-year low in January
Brazil’s current account deficit widened significantly to USD 11.9 billion in January from January 2019’s USD 9.0 billion shortfall and December’s revised USD 5.3 billion deficit (previously reported: USD 5.7 billion deficit), which marked the worst result in five years.
January’s deterioration came as the merchandise trade balance swung from surplus to deficit (January 2020: USD 1.7 bn deficit; January 2019: USD 1.6 bn surplus), due to plunging merchandise exports and representing the worst performance since February 2015. Meanwhile, net foreign direct investment moderated in the month, totaling USD 5.6 billion (January 2019: USD 5.8 bn).
Accordingly, the 12-month sum of the current account balance widened to a USD 52.3 billion shortfall, which was equivalent to approximately 2.9% of GDP, from the USD 49.5 billion deficit registered in the 12 months ending in December.