The Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) reported Friday (August 1st) that Brazil's trade surplus reached $1.575 billion in July.The positive performance resulted from $23.025 billion in exports and $21.450 billion in imports.

There was an increase in sales of basic goods (16.5%), intermediate goods (18%) and manufactured goods (0.6%). The increase in crude oil exports (276%), which totaled a monthly $2.6 billion, has been a large contribution in sustaining the surplus. An oil rig export was also reported at $866 million.

Other remarkable increases within the commodities group include coffee beans (77.2%), beef (23.2%), poultry (11.7%), and pork (10.6%). Semi-finished goods have seen increased sales of iron and steel (148.2%), cast iron (45.7%), iron alloys (32%), and leather (26.3%). Leading exports of manufactured products include cast iron pipes (140.2%), oil rigs (127.7%) and aluminum oxides and hydroxides (111.8%).

On the other hand, the highest spending on foreign purchases were reported for capital goods (11.2%), consumer goods (9.2%), fuels and lubricants (7.4%), and raw materials and intermediate goods (0.5 %).