Brazil industrial output up 0.7% in February from January
Brazil’s industrial production in February this year is was up 0.7 percent from January. The increase partly compensated for the 2.2 percent loss seen from December to January. The figure was disclosed as part of the monthly industrial survey released today (Apr. 1) by Brazil’s official statistics agency IBGE.
The increase from January to February affected 16 of the 26 sectors surveyed, chief among them extraction (5.3%) and food products (2.4%).
“The extractive sector saw an important drop in January due to the higher rainfall in Minas Gerais that month, which had a negative impact on iron ore extraction. Following the normalization of the rains, regular production resumed. The food sector, in turn, had its fourth month of growth, up 14 percent in the period. In February, the highlights were the production of sugar and that of meat and poultry—two key food groups,” IBGE researcher André Macedo declared.
Industry’s four major economic categories increased in the period, especially capital goods, i.e. machinery and equipment used in production (1.9%).
