Brazil: Manufacturing PMI edges up in January
Conditions in Brazil’s manufacturing sector improved at the start of 2019. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was rose from December’s 52.6 to 52.7, the joint-highest reading seen since March. The PMI lies above the crucial 50-threshold and in expansionary territory.
January’s healthy reading was driven by strong growth in new orders and output. New business was driven by solid domestic demand, while orders from abroad fell at the fastest pace in two years in part due to Argentina’s economic woes. In addition, business sentiment was upbeat, recording the best reading in the series’ history. Furthermore, improved dynamics translated into the labor market, and firms added jobs in January at the fastest pace since March. Meanwhile, input cost inflation continued to soften, in part due to the improvement in the real.