Brasilia, 22 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The foreign direct investments that entered Brazil in January summed US$ 1.477 billion, according to a statement released yesterday by the Central Bank. In January of 2001, a total of US$ 1.644 billion in direct foreign investments came into Brazil.
The head of the Central Bank's Economic department, Altamir Lopes, said that the inflow was more than enough to finance the deficit in running accounts during the period, calculated at US$ 1.144 billion.
According to Lopes' estimate, foreign investments should remain at around US$ 600 million in February. Up to February 21, they totaled US$ 370 million. He justified the low volume of investments in February by saying that Carnival reduced the number of useful weekdays in the month.
By the end of the year, the expectation is that Brazil receive US$ 18 million in direct foreign investments, compared to US$ 22.636 billion in 2001. (MW)