Brazil’s public debt rose 1.51% in February compared to the previous month, reaching R$5.8 trillion (US$1.13 trillion).
The R$87.3 billion (US$17 billion) increase considers the government’s debts in Brazil and abroad.
The National Treasury released the data on Wednesday, February 29.
The January percentage represented 72.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
There was a drop of a little more than 5 percentage points compared to January last year.
The methodology used by the Central Bank to measure the debt is broader because it includes government bonds with the monetary authority and state and municipal government debts.
The federal government issues public debt to finance the budget deficit, that is, to cover expenses that exceed the collection of taxes, contributions, and other revenues.
Several bodies and agencies worldwide use this data as a reference to evaluate the ability to pay debts to internal and external creditors.
LIQUIDITY RESERVE
The liquidity reserve of the National Treasury increased.
It rose 4.4%, from R$953.4 billion in January to R$995.6 billion in February.
This “cash” is enough to cover almost seven months of maturities of public securities.
In January, however, the amount was equivalent to almost eight months.
According to the Treasury, the reduction is explained by “the window of maturities ahead used in its calculation, ” including “the months of March and September 2023.”
With information from Revista Oeste
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