Brazil posts lower-than-expected trade surplus in August

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil posted a trade surplus of $4.828 billion in August, government data showed on Thursday, down nearly 50% from a year earlier and below market estimates of a $6.1 billion surplus in a Reuters poll of economists.

Exports totaled $29.1 billion last month, down 6.5% year-on-year, driven by a drop in soybean, corn, iron ore and oil shipments, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.

Imports were up 13% in August to $24.3 billion, boosted by growth in imports of chemical fertilizers, medicines and non-electric engines and machines.

Latin America's largest economy reported a trade surplus of $54.1 billion in the first eight months of the year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2023.

(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)