Agencia Brasil
03 Mar 2017, 20:07 GMT+10
Brazil hit a $4.56 billion trade surplus in February, a peak level for the month of February since the beginning of the government's time series in 1989.
Exports totaled $15.472 billion, surpassing imports of $10.192 billion. The foreign trade data was posted Thursday (March 2) by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade, and Services.
There was a 22.4% growth in exports compared to February 2016, considering the average amount of business per day, whereas imports rose 11.8%.
The export highlights were crude oil (up 326.6% compared to February 2016), iron ore (up 126.2%), soybeans (107%), pork (40%), fuel oils (480.7%), cargo vehicles (38.8%), cast iron (139%), crude soybean oil (109.9%) and semi-manufactured iron/steel goods (92.6%).
The largest import increases compared to February 2016 were seen in fuels and lubricants (34.9%) and intermediate goods (16.3%). Conversely, imports of capital and consumer goods were down 9.8% and 4.4% respectively.
Year-to-date
A recovery in commodity prices has contributed to increasing Brazilian exports and the resulting trade surplus in January and February. The surplus in the first two months of this year was a combined $7.3 billion, a record for the period since the beginning of the time series in 1989.
According to Abrao Neto, Foreign Trade Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, part of the price increase has been due to low comparison standards. "This [increase] can be partly explained by last year's very low comparison baseline, but there has been indeed a limited recovery in mineral commodity prices," Neto said.
"The increase in oil prices seems steady because of agreements between producers, but we still need to monitor iron ore further to see if this increase holds out," Abrao said.Get a daily dose of Argentina Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Argentina Star.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: On June 15, Britain named Blaise Metreweli as the first woman to lead the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known...
BARCELONA/MADRID, Spain: With another record-breaking tourist season underway, thousands of residents across southern Europe marched...
NEW DELHI, India: The flight data recorder from the crashed Air India plane was found on June 13. This vital discovery may help investigators...
BEIJING, China: A typhoon altered its course and struck Hainan Island, southern China, late on the night of June 13. Typhoon Wutip...
BANFF, Alberta: The recent G7 summit has convened for the second and final day in the picturesque Canadian Rockies amidst escalating...
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: A key global plan to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is now in deeper jeopardy after the United...
PARIS, France: The Paris Airshow kicked off on June 16, attracting attention with expected aircraft orders, but overshadowed by the...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were largely range-bound Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to maintain the target range...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is weighing a major expansion of its travel restrictions, with a new internal memo revealing...
ARLINGTON COUNTY, Virginia: As global air travel continues its recovery from the pandemic, Boeing has released a tempered 20-year outlook...
NEW YORK, New York - U.,S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as President Donald Trump hinted the United States may join Israel in its attacks...
MENLO PARK, California: Meta Platforms has made a bold move to accelerate its artificial intelligence ambitions—by investing US$14.3...