Brazil's trade surplus boosted in October by exports of key commodities

BRASILIA, Nov 6 (Reuters) -

Brazil's trade surplus jumped 70.2% in October from the same month last year, official data showed on Thursday, beating economists' estimates.

Latin America's largest economy posted a $7 billion trade surplus for October, above the $6.2 billion expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The improvement was driven by a 9.1% rise in exports, while imports fell 0.8% over the same period, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services.

That development broke a pattern seen earlier this year, when imports had been rising much faster than exports, reflecting the resilience of the Brazilian economy despite high borrowing costs aimed at curbing inflation.

Export growth in October was driven by stronger sales of key commodities in Brazil's trade portfolio, including crude oil, iron ore, soybeans, coffee, corn and beef.

Due to a 50% tariff imposed by the Trump administration in August on Brazilian goods exported to the U.S., the South American country's second-largest trading partner, shipments to the U.S. market fell 37.9% in October from a year earlier.

By contrast, exports to China, Brazil's top trading partner, rose 33.4% in the same period.

Brazil's trade surplus was $52.4 billion on a year-to-date basis, down 16.6% from the same period in 2024. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Paul Simao)