Foreign obligations declared by the private sector as of September 30, 2008 totaled
US$60,621 million, of which US$54,737 million (90%) corresponded to the non-financial
private sector (NFPS) and US$5,884 million (10%) to the private financial sector (PFS).
In the third quarter of the year, in a context of deepening turbulence in international financial markets
, the external liabilities of the private sector grew by US$ 613 million due to the
increase of US$ 1,037 million in the external debt of the NFPS, while the SPF decreased its
net debt with non-residents by US$ 424 million after registering increases in the previous five
quarters.
The increase in NFPS external liabilities reflected the higher commercial debt by US$ 1,203
million. Within this category, there were increases in the three disaggregations into which this type of liabilities are grouped
. Obligations for imports of goods were the ones that showed the highest
growth (US$ 800 million), followed by pre-financing and advances on exports (US$
226 million) and finally, debt for services (US$ 177 million). On the other hand, the financial debt of the
NFPS was reduced by US$ 166 million in the quarter.
The balance owed by the NFPS for imports of goods reached a record amount
of US$ 17,259 million at the end of September, with a year-on-year growth of 45%.
NFPS received fresh funds of US$ 878 million in the quarter, almost entirely
corresponding to financial loans. 40% of the funds came from companies in the same group as the debtor, 31% from financial institutions and 19% from international organizations and official credit agencies.
The decrease in the external debt of the SPF in the quarter was explained by the fall in financial debt
(US$ 489 million), while the growth of commercial
credit lines continued (US$ 59 million).
The SPF received fresh financial funds in the quarter totaling US$ 218 million, the highest level
received in the course of 2008. These funds took the form mostly of
pass operations with government securities.
