Brazil: Current account deficit narrows in December
Brazil’s current account recorded a deficit of USD 5.9 billion in December, improving from the USD 8.5 billion shortfall recorded in December 2020 and the USD 6.4 billion deficit clocked in November of this year.
December’s result largely reflected the balance of trade in goods flipping into surplus. Contrastingly, the primary income account deficit widened and the services account shortfall increased compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, net foreign investment was negative in the month, totaling USD 5.0 billion in outflows (December 2020: USD +4.0 billion).
Accordingly, the current account deficit totaled USD 28.1 billion for 2021 as a whole—approximately 1.8% of GDP—widening slightly from 2020’s figure of USD 24.5 billion (Approximately 1.7% of GDP).