Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Wednesday that his country's default risk had become lower than that of the United States.
The credit default swaps, which measure the cost to insure debt against default, currently stood at 41.2 basis points on the Brazilian bonds, lower than the 49.7 basis points on comparable U.S. ones, the minister told reporters after a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff.
"For the first time in history, Brazil's default risk is lower than the U.S.," said Mantega, adding that the lower risk reflected the solidity of the Brazilian economy and the investors' confidence in the country.
Also on Wednesday, the Central Bank of Brazil said that the country's economic activity registered a 3.94-percent rise in the first four months of 2011 compared with the same period last year.
The index, released monthly, takes into account the activity levels in the industrial, trade, agricultural and tertiary sectors. It is also used by the central bank to decide whether to make any changes in the country's monetary policy.