Brazil Registers Record Deficit in Current Accounts

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s current accounts in 2014 registered a record deficit of US$90.948 billion, according to data released by Brazil’s Central Bank (CB) on Friday, January 23rd. The result was well above 2013’s deficit of US$81.108 billion and the highest registered since the CB started the series in 1947.

Last year’s annual deficit is equivalent to 4.17 percent of the country’s GDP, the worst result since 2001.

The Central Bank released both December 2014 results as well as results for the entire year. For December, the country’s current account, which is measured by the sum of the balance of trade (goods and services exports less imports), net income from abroad and net current transfers, registered a deficit of US$10.317 billion.

Other indicators, such as foreign direct investments (FDI), were positive, but not enough to prevent the large overall deficit. In December of 2014, the FDI registered a total of US$6.7 billion and for 2014 a positive flow of US$62.5 billion. The annual result, however, was 2.3 percent lower than that registered the previous year (2013).

The country’s international reserves totaled US$374.1 billion in December. Brazil’s gross foreign debt was estimated at US$347.6 billion, with long term debt totaling US$293 billion and a short term debt of US$54.6 billion.

For this year the Central Bank forecasts that the deficit in current accounts will decrease to US$83.5 billion, the equivalent to 3.79 percent of the GDP.