Record oil exports lifts Brazil trade surplus above forecasts in Oct

BRASILIA: Brazil’s trade surplus topped forecasts in October, driven by record oil shipments and firmer commodity prices, official data showed on Friday.

Latin America’s largest economy posted a trade surplus of USD9.3 billion for the month, said the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, up nearly 40 percent from a year earlier and above the USD9.1 billion expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Exports rose 20.0 percent from a year earlier to USD37.8 billion, while imports increased 14.8 percent to USD28.5 billion.

“It was the largest monthly trade flow on record, with both exports and imports reaching all-time highs,” said Herlon Brandao, the ministry’s director of trade statistics.

Crude oil was the standout performer, with export values soaring 122.6 percent to a record USD8.5 billion, amid higher global prices. Volumes of crude oil exports were also a record, hitting 14.49 million metric tons, up some 63 percent, amid historically-high output levels in Brazil in recent months.

Oil was the single largest contributor to export growth last month, the data showed; both the volume and the value of oil exports were already at record levels in September. Year-to-date, Brazil’s trade surplus has widened 34.1 percent to USD71.0 billion .