BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s trade surplus jumped 70.2% in October from the same month last year, official data showed on Thursday, beating economists’ estimates.

Latin America’s largest economy posted a $7 billion trade surplus for October, above the $6.2 billion expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The improvement was driven by a 9.1% rise in exports, while imports fell 0.8% over the same period, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services.

That development broke a pattern seen earlier this year, when imports had been rising much faster than exports, reflecting the resilience of the Brazilian economy despite high borrowing costs aimed at curbing inflation.

Export growth in October was driven by stronger sales of key commodities in Brazil’s trade portfo

See Full Page