Brazil rolled up a record foreign trade surplus in 2017 of $67 billion, smashing the old record, set the previous year, by nearly $20 billion, the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services said Tuesday. The 2016 trade surplus was $47.7 billion. Brazil racked up the record trade surplus on increases in both exports and imports. Exports of $217.7 billion were 18.5% higher than in 2016 while imports, at $150.7 billion, were up 10.5%. Export revenues rose on higher international commodities prices and competitive Brazilian manufactured products backed by an unusually stable foreign exchange rate. Imports rose as Brazil’s economy emerged from a two-year recession. Economists are predicting continued improvement in both imports and exports in 2018 but with imports rising faster as Brazil’s economy gains momentum. Higher imports could trim the 2018 trade surplus a bit from the record 2017 level.
Link to ministry release
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