Brazil records lowest trade surplus since 2002

Brazil recorded a trade surplus of $760 million in May, the lowest since 2002, authorities said.

In May this year, Brazil's exports dropped 5.9 percent year-on-year to $21.8 billion, while imports increased 4 percent year-on-year to $21.1 billion, official figures show. Its trade surplus registered a fall of 74.3 percent from last year, reported Xinhua.

In the first five months of 2013, Brazil's trade accumulated a deficit of $5.4 billion, the worst ever recorded for the period.

Exports fell 2.8 percent to $93.3 billion during the first five months, while imports increased 9.8 percent to a total of $98.6 billion.

In 2012, Brazil registered a trade surplus of $19.4 billion, the lowest since 2002, representing a 34.7 percent drop from 2011.

The Brazilian government expects that its trade surplus for the year of 2013 will reach $15 billion against the market estimation of only $8.3 billion.