Brazil: Industrial production dives to record low in April
Industrial output plunged 18.8% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in April, a sharper fall than March’s 9.0% drop. Although April’s result marked the steepest contraction since the current series began in 2002, it beat market expectations of a 29.2% decrease.
The reading was chiefly driven by a sharp decline in the production of durable goods as well as of capital goods, and largely reflected the impact of the social-distancing measures imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
On an annual basis, industrial output dove 27.2% in April, which was notably below March’s 3.8% fall and marked the worst result on record. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 3.0% in April, down from March’s minus 1.0%.