The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 1.924 billion in the third week of May 2018, a result of exports of US $ 5.293 billion and imports of US $ 3.368 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC) . In the month, exports totaled US $ 14.193 billion and imports, US $ 9.1333 billion, with a positive balance of US $ 5.059 billion. In the year, exports totaled US $ 88.725 billion and imports, US $ 63.344 billion, with a surplus of US $ 25.381 billion.
Average exports in the third week reached US $ 1.059 billion, 4.9% below the US $ 1.113 billion average until the second week, due to the drop in exports of the three product categories: manufactured goods (9.1%, mainly , plastic airplanes, sheets, strips and strips, cargo vehicles, plastic polymers, flat iron / steel, refined sugar, aviation engines and turbines); semimanufactured products (8.7%, crude soybean oil, semi-finished products of iron / steel, ferro-alloys, cellulose, copper mattes, hides and skins) and basic products (2.3% , pork and beef, soybeans, copper ore, soybean meal, live cattle, manganese ore).
On the import side, it was noted a reduction of 6.5% between the third week (US $ 673.6 million) and the second (US $ 720.6 million), explained mainly by the decrease in spending on pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronic equipment, organic and inorganic chemicals, plastics and their works, mechanical equipment, aluminum and its works, fuels and lubricants.
Monthly Review
In the month, exports, compared to the averages up to the third week of May 2018 with May 2017, increased by 21.4%, due to the increase in sales of three product categories: basic (38%, US $ 441.0 million to US $ 608.8 million), semimanufactured goods (5.3%, from US $ 126.3 million to US $ 133.0 million) and manufactured goods (4.3%, US $ 312, 3 million to $ 325.7 million). In relation to April 2018, there was a growth of 15.6%, due to the increase in sales of basic products (26.5%) and semimanufactured products (16.7%). On the other hand, there was decrease in the sale of manufactured products (-0.6%, from US $ 327.5 million to US $ 325.7 million).
In imports, the daily average up to the third week of May 2018 of US $ 702.6 million was 27.4% higher than the average of May 2017 (US $ 551.3 million). In this comparison, expenditures increased mainly with mechanical equipment (43.5%), pharmaceuticals (31.6%), fuels and lubricants (30.1%), electrical and electronic equipment (26.6%) and motor vehicles and parts (24.6%). As of April 2018, there was an increase of 7%, due to increases in pharmaceuticals (95.5%), organic and inorganic chemicals (17.2%), plastics and works (14.7%), fuels and lubricants (5%). and electrical and electronic equipment (4.7%).