Brazil’s trade surplus hit a new record of $7.2 billion in March, exceeding economists’ expectations after exports expanded 26% on a year earlier. That came despite a suspension of meat shipments after a corruption investigation and longer-term declines in coffee sales. The main driver of the improvement was likely to be oil. Data for February – the most recent available in detail – shows oil exports increased 304% including 194% higher volumes. Excluding oil, exports actually only increased 4%. In March oil prices climbed 31% on a year earlier suggesting the flattering of the headline f...