BRASILIA (Dow Jones)--Brazil's total federal debt load remained stable in March at 1.495 trillion Brazilian reals ($857 billion) under the contrasting influence during the period of debt amortization and interest accrual, the government reported Tuesday.
In a joint statement, Brazil's central bank and treasury said the country's domestic federal debt load denominated in reals rose 0.2% from February to BRL1.40 trillion.
The government reported the overall increase in domestic federal debt came alongside BRL12 billion in debt amortization and BRL14.7 billion in interest accrual.
Meanwhile, Brazil's outstanding federal debt overseas fell 2.6% from February to BRL94.7 billion.
Regarding the profile of federal domestic debt in March, treasury officials reported floating-rate debt fell to 35.74% of total domestic debt during the month from 37.66% in February.
At the same time, the share of fixed-rate debt rose to 31.53% from 30.27%.
The share of inflation-indexed bonds rose during the month to 30.82% of debt from 30.15%, while exchange-linked debt fell to 0.72% of the total from 0.74% the previous month.
Brazil's government has been attempting to lengthen its debt profile and reduce its exposure to interest-rate risk through increased sales of fixed-rate and inflation-indexed debt.
The government reported Tuesday that average maturity of domestic debt rose to 3.73 years in March from 3.54 years in February.
At the same time, the government said the volume of domestic debt maturing in the coming 12 months fell in March to 24.01% from 25.45%.
The average cost of debt coming due in the next 12 months rose to 10.72% annually from 10.69%.
The March federal debt figures released Tuesday represent a key element of consolidated public-sector debt figures scheduled for release next week.
Brazil posted net consolidated public sector debt in February of BRL1.34 trillion, equivalent to 42.1% of gross domestic product.
-By Gerald Jeffris, Dow Jones Newswires; (5561) 3335-0832, gerald.jeffris@dowjones.com
About Me
- Waldemar Jezler
- For over 30 years, Brazilian-American investment banker Waldemar Jezler has worked in the finance sector. Jezler earned his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and then went on to attend Harvard Business School for his MBA. While at Harvard, Jezler was highly involved in extracurricular activities, including a term as President of the Ibero American Club.