Brazil: Business confidence hits near two-year high in February
Business sentiment in Brazil’s industrial sector improved in February with the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s (FGV, Fundaçao Getúlio Vargas) industrial business confidence index increasing to 101.4 points from January’s revised 100.9 points (previously reported: 100.5 points), marking the highest confidence seen since March 2018. Consequently, the index inched further above the 100-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism among businesses in the Brazilian industrial sector.
Stronger business sentiment in February was the result of firms’ renewed optimism in the current economic situation, with the sub-index hitting an over six-year high. Conversely, their view on the economic outlook was slightly less optimistic.
Despite the upturn in confidence in February, the recent toll of coronavirus on the Chinese economy, commodity prices, and its recent emergence in Brazil is likely to weigh on business sentiment in the near-term amid an already uncertain domestic environment.