Brasilia: Brazil's trade surplus surged 48 per cent to $29.79 billion (Dh109.32 billion) in 2011 from the previous year, but a smaller surplus in December may signal that the global slowdown is already hitting the demand for and the price of the country's exports.
The country posted a trade surplus of $3.8 billion in December, the Industry and Trade Ministry said on Monday, down nearly 29 per cent from the same month in 2010. November's surplus totalled $583 million, the ministry said last month.
Last year's total trade surplus was the highest since 2007, when the country reported a positive trade balance of $40 billion prior to the 2008-2009 global financial meltdown, according to ministry data. The commodity powerhouse had a trade surplus of $20.15 billion in 2010.
Both exports and imports posted records in value terms for December, but the pace of growth in imports far outpaced that of exports for the month at 23 per cent versus 10.6 per cent respectively.
Debt woes
Analysts see lingering debt woes in Europe drying up global lending and curbing demand for and prices of key Brazilian products such as iron ore and soy.
"In 2012, we will see a downward trend in the trade balance. We will continue to see surpluses but smaller ones because the terms of trade will no longer be as positive as in 2011," said Newton Rosa, chief economist with SulAmerica Investimentos in Sao Paulo.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, made up of 19 commodities, fell 8.49 per cent last year in the first annual drop since 2008. The index has fallen 18 per cent from its year's peak reached last April.
