BRASILIA: Brazil's national debt opened this year at a record high 89.7% of gross domestic product, while the public sector posted a primary surplus of 58.4 billion reais ($10.6 billion), the central bank said on Friday.

The public sector surplus excluding interest payments of 58.4 billion reais was more than the 50 billion reais surplus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and the overall deficit in the 12 months through January was worth 9.4% of gross domestic product.