Brazil's federal public debt reached R$9.28 trillion in July, up 0.22% from R$9.26 trillion in June, according to figures released Wednesday by the National Treasury Secretariat. In practical terms, this is what the federal government owes to holders of its bonds, debt that every taxpayer helps cover, whether through taxes paid now or in years to come.

Almost all of July's increase came from interest costs: R$85.53 billion was added to the debt simply from interest accruing on bonds already issued. That was partly offset by what the Treasury calls a net redemption of R$65.14 billion, meaning it paid back more bonds than it issued during the month.

Quick explainer: Brazil's federal public debt is money the National Treasury, part of the Finance Ministry, borrows to cover the gap between what the government collects in taxes and contributions and what it spends. When spending outpaces revenue, the Treasury issues bonds, sold to investors in Brazil and abroad, promising to repay that money with interest later.

Two other figures in the report show the debt's underlying condition. Its average maturity, the time before the government must refinance its bonds, edged up from 4.01 to 4.05 years, about two extra weeks of breathing room. The average cost of the debt over the past 12 months fell from 12.68% a year in June to 12.45% in July, a rate still steep enough to resemble what many Brazilians pay on a car loan.

The Treasury's liquidity reserve, cash set aside specifically to cover future debt payments, rose 1.89% in July to R$1.37 trillion, up from R$1.34 trillion in June. Compared with July 2025, when the reserve stood at R$988.35 billion, that marks nominal growth of 38.74%, a far thicker cushion than a year earlier.

For the end of 2026, the Treasury projects total debt will land between R$9.7 trillion and R$10.3 trillion. The agency also revised its Annual Financing Plan (PAF), released the same day: it now expects 49% to 53% of the debt stock to consist of floating-rate bonds, whose interest tracks Brazil's benchmark Selic rate and moves up or down with it, at the expense of fixed-rate and inflation-linked securities.