Brazil Slides Into The Red

Brazil’s current account registered a deficit in January of $452 million, the first time in over a year the country’s account has slipped into the red. The Central Bank said the strength of the local currency was encouraging multinationals to increase profit repatriation and pushing local borrowers to ramp up interest payments owed abroad. The deficit in January follows a $570 million surplus in December last year and an $802 million surplus in January 2005. Last year, overall, Brazil posted a record current account surplus of $14.2 billion.