Brazil posts $5.9 billion current account deficit in October as trade surplus shrinks

BRASILIA, Nov 25 (Reuters) -

Brazil posted a current account deficit of $5.9 billion in October, down from a modest surplus recorded during the same month last year, dragged by a shrinking trade surplus, central bank data showed on Monday.

The monthly deficit was slightly narrower than the $6 billion projected in a Reuters poll of economists.

Brazil had posted a $451 million current account surplus in October 2023. The removal of that figure from the annual calculation pushed the country's 12-month rolling deficit up to 2.23% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 1.94% in the previous month.

The central bank attributed the deterioration primarily to a contraction in the trade surplus, which fell to $3.4 billion in October from $8.6 billion a year earlier.

As seen in previous months this year, imports surged, rising 23.5% in October compared to the same month in 2023, reflecting stronger-than-expected resilience in Latin America's largest economy.

In contrast, exports saw a slight decline of 0.6% over the same period.

Foreign direct investment for the month reached $5.7 billion, the central bank added, above the $4.7 billion forecast in the Reuters poll. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)