Brazil's crude oil exports rose by more than 50% in August compared with a year earlier and gasoline output fell by more than a fifth, the country's petroleum regulator ANP said, as Brasilia adjusted to weaker domestic fuels demand. Oil exports rose 56.2% in August to 25.36 million barrels, the highest total since June's record high, compared with 16.23 million barrels in August 2014, Reuters reported. Exports in the month were 28.9% higher than in July. Imports fell 20.3% from a year earlier to 7.91 million barrels, the lowest since May, and were 4.41% lower than in July. Brazil's economy is in the middle of its worst downturn since the great world depression of the 1930s, a recession that has seen a plunge in industrial activity. Production of gasoline, which fell 22.4% to 12.56 million barrels compared with a year earlier and 9.81% compared with July, was also pressured by the fuel's declining competitiveness with hydrous ethanol in much of the country.
