BRASILIA, April 24 (Reuters) – Brazil’s current account deficit totaled $6.036 billion in March, central bank data showed on Friday, exceeding the $5.489 billion shortfall expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) for the month reached $6.037 billion, falling short of the $7 billion forecast in the poll.
• The widening of the current account deficit was driven by a $1.6 billion fall in the trade surplus from the same month last year, as imports grew much faster than exports.
• Also weighing on the monthly result were larger deficits in the factor payments account, up $1.1 billion from March 2025, and in services, which increased by $600 million.
• On a 12-month basis, the current account deficit rose to 2.71% of gross domestic product (GDP), from 2.61% in the previous month.
• Over the same period, FDI totaled 3.18% of GDP, down from 3.24% in February.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Tomasz Janowski)
