Trade balance has first positive YTD result in 2015

Brazil's exports have exceeded imports for the first time this year, reversing the cumulative trade deficit in 2015. According to figures released Monday (June 15) by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, exports have exceeded imports by $349 million since the beginning of the year.

The balance shift came from a $678 million surplus in the second week of June. Until the first week of June, the cumulative figures for 2015 were negative, with the country importing $329 million more than exporting. The partial result for June stands at a cumulative $2.65 billion surplus in the month so far.

The reversal in foreign trade operations has two causes. First, a record grain crop boosted grain exports in June. In the first two weeks of the month, primary product sales rose 18.7% compared to the same period in May, on a daily average.

Another factor was the sale of a $690 million oil platform in the first week of June. The equipment did not actually leave the country, but the operation was booked as an export because the platform was bought by a Petrobras subsidiary abroad, then rented to Brazil. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, this kind of transaction is within international ing standards.

In the year, exports have been going down less than imports. Until the second week of June, the country sold $83.95 billion abroad, down 14.6% on a daily average as against the same period of 2014, whereas imports, impacted by a dollar hike, totaled $83.6 billion, a 17.7% decrease from a year ago.

Translated by Mayra Borges