Brazil: Current account deficit widens in August
Brazil’s current account balance came in at a deficit of USD 717 million in August, a deterioration from the USD 320 million shortfall recorded in the same month last year. August’s result marked the second consecutive monthly shortfall.
The wider current account deficit was primarily due to a lower trade surplus, which came in at USD 3.8 billion in August (August 2017: USD 5.6 billion). Soaring import growth was chiefly behind the weaker trade surplus due to record high imports of oil platforms under the special customs program Repetro. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment came in at USD 10.6 billion in August, over double the result recorded in August 2017.
As a result, the 12-month accumulative current account deficit widened in August to USD 15.5 billion from July’s USD 15.1 billion deficit. August’s result represented approximately 0.8% of GDP.