DON'T BANK ON THE GOOD FORTUNE OF BRAZIL
Most things have been going Brazil's way recently. Falling interest rates have reduced the cost of the country's external debt. The Banco Central do Brasil recently reported that net interest payments on the country's $102.8 billion foreign debt should drop from $9.6 billion to $9 billion. That's well down on last year's $10.4 billion.
The oil price has also been weak. That's crucial for a country which, according to a recent analysis by the Bank of Boston, spent 83% of its new foreign borrowing from 1974 to 1983 on oil imports. And the weakness of the dollar--to which the cruzado is tied --has helped Brazil. The Banco Central noted in its latest report to creditors: "Further declines in the US dollar, since the cruzado was fixed, are continuing to improve Brazil's competitiveness and export performance.' Almost three quarters of Brazil's exports go to markets outside the US. Some economists are now suggesting that the cruzado is even undervalued against the dollar.
The combination of cheaper oil and a cheaper dollar has pushed Brazil's trade surplus for the first half of this year to $6.16 billion.