BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil posted a current account deficit of $3.5 billion in May, the worst result for the month in eight years, amid trade balance weakening, central bank figures showed on Friday.
A strong commodities producer, Brazil has seen its exports grow, but imports have increased at a faster pace, driven by higher prices for products such as fuel and fertilizers.
In May, the trade balance surplus was $3.4 billion, down 53.3% over the same month last year.
The factor payments deficit also rose by $1.4 billion in the month, while the services deficit rose by $743 million, the central bank said.
Overall, this was the worst current account figure for May since 2014, when the deficit was $6.7 billion.
On the other hand, foreign direct investment in May totaled $4.5 billion, more than doubling from $2.2 billion a year earlier.
According to the central bank, investors made a net redemption of $3.9 billion from Brazilian markets in May, including $3.2 billion outflows in stocks and $702 million in bonds.
In 12 months, the current account deficit reached 1.89% of gross domestic product, while foreign direct investment hit 3.45% of GDP, the central bank said.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Cynthia Oserman)
