Brazil: Industrial output rebounds firmly in August
Industrial production jumped 0.8% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in August, contrasting July’s revised 0.2% fall (previously reported: -0.3% month-on-month). The result, which came in significantly above expectations of market analysts, marked the strongest increase since June 2018.
August’s upturn came on the back of a marked rebound in the production of intermediate goods, which more than offset declining production of capital and consumer goods. Among sectors, industrial output rose in 10 of the 26 surveyed, with the main positive contributions coming from the extractive, energy and food sectors.
On an annual basis, industrial production contracted 2.3 in August, a slightly softer drop than July’s 2.4% decrease. That said, average variation in industrial production came in at minus 1.6%, deteriorating from previous month’s minus 1.3% and marking the worst reading since May 2017.