SAO PAULO: Brazil posted a $2.76 billion trade surplus in May, the best performance for the period in three years, the Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Ministry said.
The May number was substantially higher than the figure in April, when the South American country posted a trade surplus of $491 million, and was up 288.3 percent from the May 2014 surplus of $711 million.
Brazil, nevertheless, ran a deficit of $2.3 billion during the first five months of this year due to poor performances in January and February, when it posted deficits of $3.17 billion and $2.84 billion, respectively.
Exports surged 10.6 percent in May, compared to April, to $16.76 billion.
Imports, however, fell 4.4 percent last month, compared to April, to $14 billion, helping boost the trade numbers for the month.
Exports to China, the top destination for Brazilian exports, totaled $4.1 billion last month, coming in ahead of the United States, the South American country’s No. 2 trade partner, with $1.89 billion.
Brazil posted a trade deficit of $3.9 billion last year, the South American nation’s first deficit in 14 years.
