Brasília, September 1, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In July, net federal government debt grew R$ 20.8 billion, raising the total to R$ 877.2 billion, equivalent to 57% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared with June's total of R$ 856.4 billion (55.5% of the GDP). As for the overall debt, which includes all three levels of government plus Social Security, the total stands at R$ 1.201 trillion, equivalent to 78.1% of the GDP, estimated at R$ 1.538 trillion at the end of July. The GDP shrank R$ 19.8 billion in comparison with the R$ 1.558 trillion registered in December, 2002.

These figures are included in a report on Fiscal Policy prepared by the Economic Department (Depec) of the Central Bank and presented on Friday (29) by Depec's deputy head, Luiz Sampaio Malan. He said that the chief factors contributing to this year's indebtedness, equivalent to 4.19% of the GDP, were the need for funds, acknowedgement of debts, the variation in parity among currencies that make up the foreign debt basket, and the effect of the (negative) growth trend observed in the GDP. Working in the other direction was the 3.17% appreciation of the exchange rate. (DAS)