Brazil posted a trade deficit of US$1.18 billion in October, data from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade showed on November 3.

It was its second straight monthly gap and raises the risk of the country recording its first annual trade deficit in more than a decade. The country posted a deficit of US$940 million in September.

This was the worst October figure in 16 years, according to Brazil’s official news agency. The worst trade deficit in any October was reported in 1998, when the monthly gap reached US$1.44 billion.

The value of exports in October fell by 19.7 percent year-on-year to US$18.33 billion, according to the data. Imports reached US$19.5 billion, a drop of 15.4 percent from a year earlier.
Brazil’s cumulative deficit for the year to date is US$1.87 billion, with exports down 3.7 percent at US$191.97 billion and imports also down 3.7 percent at US$193.84 billion.

Last year, Brazil posted an overall surplus of US$2.56 billion.