Information regarding Brazil’s finance sector and the country’s macroeconomy.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday hosts Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Solá, who will also meet his counterpart Ernesto Araújo. They will discuss bilateral trade, the Mercosur customs union and Venezuela, according to official sources. Relations between the two key trade partners worsened late last year as Bolsonaro’s far-right administration clashed with Alberto Fernandez’s left-leaning government.
Corn production in Brazil is pegged at record 100.5 million mt in 2019, according to the monthly crop survey published by national agricultural agency Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab). Corn prices in the Mato Grosso, the largest grain producer in the country, rose to Real 37.69/60 kg ($8.72/60 kg) as of the week ended February 7, up 76.5% on the year. The agency also pegged domestic consumption at 70.5 million mt against 65.2 million mt in 2018-19.
Capital outflows from Brazilian asset markets and the real’s slide to new all-time lows against the U.S. dollar pose little threat to Brazil’s sovereign credit profile, ratings agency Moody’s said on Monday. Moody’s has a Ba2 rating on Brazil, with a stable outlook. Source: Reuters
Fomenting biogas production among agricultural producers may seem at first glance to be a distraction from the purpose of Itaipu – the world’s second largest hydroelectric power plant shared by Brazil and Paraguay – but in fact it is part of their energy business strategy. The efficiency of Itaipu has been proven by the record amount of electricity generated: 103 million megawatts/hour in 2016, which exceeds the best performance of China’s Three Gorges power plant, whose installed capacity is 60.7 percent higher.
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported its decision to remove Brazil from the list of developing countries, which may restrict trade benefits granted to nations in this category. Some practical consequences for Brazil may include the end of the unilateral exemption of export tariffs by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the right to partial trade agreements with other developing countries, and part of the loans from the World Bank.
The price of the main products exported by Brazil plummeted after the outbreak of coronavirus in China, the main buyer of Brazilian products, according to BMJ Consultores Associados. Since the second half of January, the price of soybeans fell 5.13%, that of oil 15.5% and iron ore 14.3%. These three products accounted for 78% of Brazil’s foreign sales in 2019, which totalled $177.3 billion
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest doubled in January compared with a year ago, reaching a five-year record for the month, according to the national space research agency Inpe. More than 280 sq km were cleared in January, an increase of 108%, and a record for the month since data started being collected in 2016. Deforestation in the Amazon soared last year.
Petrobras applied a price reduction on petroleum products in its refineries as of Thursday 6. The litre of gasoline will cost 4.3% less, diesel, 4.4%, S10 diesel for thermal power plants 4,6%, and marine diesel, 4.5%. Petrobras has not increased gasoline since December 1 and diesel since December 21. The accumulated fall in the year is R $ 0.02156 for gasoline and R $ 0.03236 for diesel.
Brazil central bank board lowered the Selic rate to 4.25%, and intends to hold interest rates going forward after five consecutive rate cuts totalling 2.25 percentage points.The economy ministry expects gross domestic product to expand 2.4% in 2020. Annual inflation stood at 4.34% in mid-January, but the real’s performance, the second worst among emerging market currencies so far this year, could fuel price increases by making imports more expensive.
Brazil’s development bank BNDES sold on Wednesday $5.2 billion in common shares it owned in state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA), the largest Petrobras offering in a decade. BNDES will send part of the profits to Brazil’s Treasury as dividends. The sale of Petrobras shares is the largest divestiture so far of the R$110 billion stock portfolio owned by the development bank.
