The country’s public accounts recorded a record primary surplus in January, the Central Bank (BC) reported today. The amount, the highest of the entire historical series, was R$ 101.8 billion, compared to a primary surplus of R$ 58.4 billion in January 2021. In the twelve months ended in January, the primary surplus of the consolidated public sector reached R$ $108.2 billion, equivalent to 1.23% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The data are in BC fiscal statistics report. According to the bank, in January, the result of the primary surplus of the consolidated public sector was R$ 77.4 billion for the Central Government (Welfare, Central Bank and National Treasury); R$20 billion for states and municipalities and R$4.4 billion for state-owned companies.
The primary result is formed by revenues minus interest expenses, without considering the payment of interest on the public debt. Thus, when revenues exceed expenditures, there is a primary surplus.
Fees
Nominal interest in the consolidated public sector reached R$ 17.8 billion in January, compared to R$ 40.4 billion in January 2021. According to the BC, the result of foreign exchange swap operations contributed to this reduction.
The currency swap is the sale of dollars in the futures market. The results of these operations are transferred to the payment of interest on the public debt, as income, when there are gains, and as expenses, when there are losses.
In the period, these operations resulted in a gain of BRL 31.9 billion in January 2022 compared to a loss of BRL 16.3 billion in January 2021.
In the twelve-month period, nominal interest reached BRL 425.7 billion (4.86% of GDP) in January 2022, compared to BRL 315.7 billion (4.2% of GDP) in the twelve months through January of 2021.
The BC also informed that the nominal result of the consolidated public sector, which includes the primary result and nominal interest appropriated, had a surplus of R$ 84.1 billion in January. In the last twelve months, the nominal deficit reached BRL 317.5 billion (3.62% of GDP), compared to a nominal deficit of BRL 383.7 billion (4.42% of GDP) in December 2021.
Public debt
The net public sector debt (balance between the total credits and debts of the federal, state and municipal governments) closed January at R$ 5 trillion, which corresponds to 56.6% of GDP, a reduction of 0.6 percentage point of GDP in the month.
The gross debt of the general government (GDBG) – which only accounts for the liabilities of the federal, state and municipal governments – reached R$ 7 trillion or 79.6% of GDP. A 0.7 percentage point decrease in GDP from the previous month
