Brazil's machinery exports climb in April

Brazil's industrial machinery and equipment exports rose 11.1% year-on-year to US$682mn in April, paper Valor Econômico reported, citing data from industry association Abimaq.

Machinery imports dived 33.6% year-on-year to US$1.21bn last month, the association said.

The figures show a trade deficit of US$526mn, down 56.3% year-on-year.

The industry's capacity utilization rate reached 65.9% in January-April, 3.1 percentage points lower than a year before, Abimaq said.

The weak performance is considered to be a result of the country's worsening political and economic climate, as well as negative systemic factors impacting competitiveness and customers.