Brazil: Economy contracts at sharpest pace on record in April
Economic activity dropped 9.7% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in April (March: -6.2% mom) as coronavirus induced social isolation measures continued to dent activity. April’s result marked the steepest contraction since current records began in February 2003; however, the result was slightly better than market expectations of a 11.0% drop.
On an annual basis, economic activity plunged 15.1% in April, which was well below March’s 1.8% fall, marking the worst print on record. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of economic activity coming in at minus 0.5% in April, contrasting March’s plus 0.7% reading.