BRAZIL'S SEPT TRADE SURPLUS HIGHEST OF THE YEAR
Brazil's September trade surplus
was the best so far this year, totalling 1.494 billion dlrs,
compared with 1.434 billion dlrs in August and 540 mln dlrs in
September last year, Banco do Brasil's Foreign Trade Department
(Cacex) director Namir Salek said in a news conference.
    September exports were 2.694 billion dlrs, slightly down
from 2.76 billion dlrs in August. Imports in September amounted
to 1.2 billion dlrs, against 1.32 billion dlrs in August.
    Salek said the accumulated surplus in the Jan-Sept period
was 7.857 billion dlrs, compared with 8.667 billion dlrs in a
similar 1986 period.
    Coffee accounted with 320 mln dlrs of exports, up from 222
mln dlrs in August and 212 mln in September 1986, Salek said.
    The Cacex director said he expected the country's trade
surplus to average 800 mln dlrs in the remaining three months
of the year, estimating the year's overall surplus to reach
10.2 billion dlrs, from 25.6 billion dlrs worth of exports and
15.4 billion dlrs of imports.
    He attributed the good surplus on exports of manufactured
and semimanufactured goods. He mentioned car exports, which
accounted alone with sales of 617 mln dlrs in the Jan-Sept
period, against 194 mln dlrs in a similar 1986 period.
 Reuter
