Brazil's current account deficit down 58% in first half of 2009

• Source: Xinhua
• [15:11 July 28 2009]
• Comments

Brazil registered a current account deficit of $7.07 billion in the first half of 2009, down 58 percent year-on-year, the country's Central Bank said on Monday.

Brazil's current account deficit in the first half of 2008 was $16.8 billion.

The country's current account deficit stood at $535 million in June, down from $2.78 billion in the same month last year.

The sharp decrease was largely due to a fall in the profit and dividend remittances and the fact that the country's imports fell more than exports.

The current account consists of the trade balance, unilateral transfers from abroad and services and income account results.

In June, Brazil's trade balance registered a surplus of $4.62 billion, up from $2.72 billion registered in June 2008.

In the first six months of 2009, Brazil registered a trade surplus of $13.99 billion, up from $11.3 billion in the same period last year.

The unilateral transfers from abroad reached $1.57 billion in the first half of 2009, down from $1.88 billion in the same period last year.

The services and income account had a $5.42 billion deficit in June, down from a deficit of $5.82 billion in June 2008.