External accounts have a positive balance of US$ 649 million in May
The difference in the interannual comparison is entirely the result of the US$ 6.4 billion increase in the trade surplus in the month. Goods exports totaled a record US$ 33.306 billion in May, an increase of 11.2% compared to the same month of 2022. Imports totaled US$ 23.587 billion, a decrease of 11.3% compared to May 2022.
With these results, in May 2023, the trade balance closed with a positive balance of US$ 9.719 billion, against a positive balance of US$ 3.368 billion in May 2022. It is the highest surplus in the historical series, for any month, starting in January from 1995.
On the other hand, the deficit in primary income (payments of interest and profits and dividends from companies) increased by US$ 1.1 billion, the deficit in services fell by US$ 290 million and the surplus in secondary income, which are transfers without counterparts , retreated US$ 309 million.
In 12 months, ending in May, the deficit in current transactions is US$ 48.545 billion, 2.45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, the sum of goods and services produced in the country), against a negative balance of US$ 53.826 billion (2.73% of GDP) in April 2023 and a deficit of US$51.218 billion (2.89% of GDP) in the equivalent period ending in May 2022.
In the accumulated result for the year, the deficit is US$ 12.647 billion, against a negative balance of US$ 21.099 billion from January to May 2022.
services
The deficit in the services account (international travel, transport, equipment rental and insurance, among others) totaled US$ 3.123 billion in May, an 8% reduction compared to the US$ 3.413 billion in the same month of 2022.
In the case of international travel, following the trend of recent months, revenues from foreigners traveling to Brazil grew 51.8% in the interannual comparison and reached US$ 567 million in May, against US$ 373 million in the same month of 2022. Spending by Brazilians abroad increased from US$ 1.092 billion in May of last year to US$ 1.201 billion in the same month of 2023, an increase of 10%.
As a result, the travel account closed the month with a 11.7% reduction in the deficit, reaching US$ 634 million, compared to a deficit of US$ 718 million in May 2022. According to the Central Bank, this account is very affected due to the restrictions imposed by the covid-19 pandemic, and despite the gradual recovery, the values are still well below the period before the pandemic.
The transport item contributed to the reduction of the service account deficit, from US$ 1.789 billion in May 2022 to US$ 1.163 billion last month, a decrease of 35%. According to the BC, the improvement was influenced by lower expenses with freight, which had a reduction due to the drop in international prices, in addition to a reduction in imports.
lace
In May, the deficit in primary income – profits and dividends, interest payments and wages – reached US$ 5.984 billion, an increase of 21.3% compared to US$ 4.933 billion in the same month of 2022. Normally, this account is in deficit , since there are more investments by foreigners in Brazil – and they remit profits abroad, than by Brazilians abroad.
In the case of profits and dividends associated with direct and portfolio investments, there was a deficit of US$ 4.606 billion in the month of May this year, compared to that observed in May 2022, of US$ 4.209 billion, due to the reduction of 26.2% of recipes.
Net interest expenses also increased, rising from US$716 million in May 2022 to US$1.397 billion last month, influenced by higher gross expenses on intercompany operations and other investments.
The secondary income account – generated in one economy and distributed to another, such as donations and remittances of dollars, without counterpart services or goods – had a positive result of US$ 37 million, against a surplus of US$ 346 million in May 2022.
Financing
Net inflows in direct investments in the country (IDP) totaled US$ 5.380 billion last May, compared to US$ 3.969 billion in May 2022, growth of 36%.
Last month, there were net inflows in capital participation of US$ 4.942 billion, such as the purchase of new companies and reinvestments of profits, against US$ 5.761 billion in May 2022. Meanwhile, intercompany operations had a surplus of US$ 438 million in May 2023, against a deficit of US$ 1.791 billion in the same month of 2022, mainly responsible for the increase in the IDP.
When the country registers a negative current account balance, it needs to cover the deficit with investments or loans abroad. The best form of financing the negative balance is the IDP, because the resources are invested in the productive sector and tend to be long-term investments.
For the month of June, the Central Bank partial for the IDP – until the 21st – is of net inflows of US$ 4.811 billion.
In the 12 months ended in May, the PDI grew significantly in the interannual comparison and totaled US$ 83.369 billion, corresponding to 4.21% of GDP. In the previous month, April 2023, these inflows were US$81.958 billion (4.16% of GDP) and US$56.979 billion (3.22% of GDP) in May 2022.
domestic market
In the case of portfolio investments in the domestic market, there were net outflows of US$3.994 billion in May 2023, comprising outflows of US$1.767 billion in stocks and mutual funds and outflows of US$2.228 billion in debt securities.
The stock of international reserves reached US$ 343.489 billion in May, a reduction of US$ 2.237 billion compared to the previous month. The reduction was mainly due to the negative contributions of price and parity variations, US$ 1.962 billion and US$ 1.888 billion, respectively. Contributing to raising the stock of international reserves, there was a net return of US$ 1 billion in operations with repurchase lines, and interest income totaling US$ 635 million.
Foto de © REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won/Direitos reservados
Economia,Contas Externas,banco central,IDP
