The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of $1.2 billion in May’s first week and, therefore, the year-to-date surplus reached $14.4 billion.
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This is according to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
In last week’s five business days, exports totaled $3.9 billion, with imports at $2.7 billion. Year-to-date, Brazil had earnings of $29.9 billion with sales abroad, and spent $45.5 billion in imported goods.
The sales of finished products declined 10%, due to weaker sales of refined sugar, fuel oils, auto parts, cargo vehicles, aluminum oxides and hydroxides, vehicle engines, pneumatic components, pumps and compressors, iron and steel flat-rolled product and electrical engines and generators.
The sales average of basic goods declined 8.3% due to weaker sales of crude oil, coffee, tobacco, iron ore, poultry and salted meat. The only category that had an exports increase was the semi-finished products with 25.1%, due to stronger sales of raw aluminum, ferro-alloys, copper cathodes and wood pulp.
Imports daily average declined 21.6% last week over May 2015 and stood at $549.2 million. Products with a decline in imports were steel products, mechanical equipment, auto and auto parts, electronic devices and fuel and lubricants.
Year-to-date, the exports average declined 3.9%, with imports average registering a steeper decline with 31.6%. The foreign trade totals $105.365 billion in 2016 up until last week.
Brazilian motorcycle exports totaled 4,122 units in April with an increase of 49.3% over the same month of last year, according to the Brazilian Association of Motorcycle, Moped and Bicycle Manufacturers (Abraciclo).
Over March of this year, there was a decline of 12.7%. In the first four months, 17,871 units were sold abroad, an increase of 96.1% over the same period of 2015.
Last month, 63,036 motorcycles were manufactured in the country, 21.7% less than the total of March and 36.4% less than in April of last year.
Year-to-date, there was a decline of 36.4%, going from 453,958 motorcycles from January to April of 2015, to 288,499 motorcycles in the first four months of 2016. Abraciclo pointed out that the second half usually brings better numbers. ■
Predominant upper-level ridging stretching from the Southwest to the southern High Plains will allow for another day of record-breaking heat across parts of Nevada and Arizona today.