Brazil’s trade surplus (exports minus imports) amounted to US$ 3.452 billion in May, lifting the cumulative surplus for the first five months of the year to US$ 15.646 billion.
This total represents an increase of 39.63% compared with the US$ 11.205 billion registered for the same period in 2004.
Foreign sales totaled US$ 9.819 billion last month, compared with US$ 7.941 billion in May, 2004, an increase of 23.65%.
Purchases of foreign goods, which amounted to US$ 6.367 billion, were up 31.85% from May, 2004, when imports came to US$ 4.829 billion.
These figures were released by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade.
For the year, exports total US$ 43.472 billion, and imports, US$ 27.826 billion. With the gradual increase in trade volume, the cumulative surplus for the past 12 months stands at US$ 38.111 billion.
If the pace of trade is maintained in both directions, the surplus will surpass the expectations of the financial market, which is predicting a surplus of US$ 35 billion.
Agência Brasil
