Brasília, November 20, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In October, the balance of federal domestic debt stood at R$ 632.10 billion (approximately US$ 180 billion), 4.05% (R$ 26.7 billion/US$ 7.6 million) less than in September, The 6.42% improvement in the exchange rate and the redemption of debt certificates were responsible for the decline.

For the same reasons, the balance of debt instruments linked to the exchange rate, excluding swap operations (which are hedged against currency fluctuations), also fell, R$ 23.1 billion (approximately US$ 6.55 billion). The percentage they represent of total debt declined from 29.04% to 26.62%. When swap operations are included, the percentage of total debt that is currency sensitive fell from 40.67% to 37.97%. (DAS)