Brazil: Industrial production deteriorates in September
November 4, 2015
In September, industrial production contracted 1.3% over the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, which was a more pronounced contraction than the revised 0.9% decrease (previously reported: -1.2% month-on-month) seen in August. However, the result was better than market analysts’ expectations of a 1.5% fall. The figure was driven by a fall in the production of intermediate goods and consumer goods, while capital goods swung back to growth in September.
In annual terms, industrial production plummeted 10.8% in September, which was a deterioration from August’s revised 8.7% fall (previously reported: -9.0% year-on-year) and marked the worst reading since May 2009. A decrease in output was recorded in 24 of the 26 categories that the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) surveyed. The biggest negative impact was recorded in the production of motor vehicles and trailers.
The trend continued to point downward in September, with annual average growth in industrial production falling from August’s minus 5.7% to minus 6.4%. Annual average growth has followed a broadly downward trend since March 2014.