Brasília, January 7, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Federal Treasury has already managed to fulfill this year's target for resources to be obtained on the domestic market, with room to spare. This information was provided today by the president of the Central Bank (BC), Henrique Meirelles.

Of the US$ 5 billion intended to be obtained this year, to repay installments of the government's foreign debt due between January and June, the Treasury has already obtained US$ 5.5 billion. "There is no question that this is good news, since the funds we had planned to attract this year, we were able to obtain last year," Meirelles said. The president of the BC added that the acquisition of resources ahead of schedule reflects the country's favorable conditions abroad.

According to Meirelles, the Treasury's purchases will contribute to the recovery of international reserves, insofar as they will render it unnecessary to draw on these resources. (DAS)