-- Brazil recorded its highest ever exports in April after conflict in the Middle East boosted oil prices, Bloomberg reported, citing government data published on Thursday.
Total export income was $34.5 billion, up 14.3% from a year earlier and the highest since the government's data series began in 1997. The trade surplus also grew 37.5% in the period, to $10.5 billion, the Bloomberg article said.
The country is the biggest of Latin American oil producers and it is now benefiting from the surge in prices on the portion that it exports, while the same higher prices have posed a macroeconomic risk that the government has sought to mitigate by cutting fuel taxes and offering subsidies, Bloomberg reported.
Brazil's extractive industries achieved a 17.9% increase in exports in April, with both oil and also iron ore shipments growing, with global prices for both currently on the higher side, the story said, citing a Trade Ministry official.
The increase was achieved despite a 12% tax on crude oil exports introduced in March as the government tries to limit the impact of the Middle East conflict on its domestic fuel prices.
That levy is aimed at boosting domestic refining and guaranteeing supply but with Brazil's low production costs, exports can still be competitively priced, said the official, Herlon Alves Brandao, head of statistics and foreign trade studies at the ministry.
has reached out to the ministry seeking comment on the information.
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