Brazil: Industrial output growth moderates in December
Industrial output rose 0.9% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in December (November: +1.1% mom), marking the worst reading since April—albeit coming in above market analysts’ expectations of a 0.2% rise. December’s moderation was largely driven by decelerating consumer and capital goods output. However, intermediate goods production bounced back from the previous month’s fall. Lastly, durable consumer goods production moderated, while non-durable consumer goods production contracted.
On an annual basis, industrial production rose at a quicker rate of 8.3% in December (November: +2.8% yoy), the best result since April 2018. Moreover, the trend improved, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 4.4% in December, up from November’s minus 5.2% reading.