Brasilia, 22 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The head of the Central Bank's Economic department, Altamir Lopes, stressed Thursday that the accumulated deficit in the running accounts (commerce and service operations with other countries), for the 12-month period ending in January, totaled US$ 22.053 billion, which is the lowest, in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), since December of 2000, when the ratio was 4.15%. In January of this year, the deficit reached 4.37% of GDP. He added that this deficit has been dropping since the last quarter of last year. For this year, the Central Bank is anticipating a deficit of US$ 20.623 billion in running accounts (or 3.83% of GDP), compared to US$ 23.217 billion (4.61% of GDP) in 2001.
Lopes pointed out that since the last quarter of 2001, the deficit in running accounts "has been revealing and accentuating a tendency for retraction", thanks mainly to the good performance of trade and to an accommodation of expenses with services. He added that spending with trips abroad has also been dropping due to the current exchange rate, to the terrorist attacks in the United States and to slower economic activity domestically. (MW)