The trade balance recorded a $9 billion surplus in October. As a result, the seasonally adjusted and annualized balance reached $119 billion, and $88 billion excluding oil.
In October, exports increased by 7.3%, and imports by 7.0% – with seasonal adjustments. Exports excluding oil advanced by 6.2% on a monthly basis, while imports excluding oil saw a 4.0% increase.
The positive performance of exports last month was mainly driven by the growth in Soybeans (12.4% MoM), oil (11.7% MoM), and Transportation Materials (21.4% MoM). In the year-on-year comparison, total exports grew by 4.2%.
On the import side, fuels and lubricants (26.5% MoM), chemicals (28.1% MoM), and fertilizers (20.5 MoM) were the main contributors to the decline. In the year-on-year comparison, total imports decreased by 16.4%.
With this result, the year-to-date balance accumulated to $80.3 billion. Over 12 months, the accumulated balance is $91.1 billion.
