Brazil: Economic activity expands at quickest pace since July in December
The Brazilian economy ended the year on a sweet note: Economic activity rose 0.3% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in December, which was an improvement from November’s 0.8% decrease. December’s figure marked the best reading since July and halted a four-month streak of contractions. December’s growth surprised markets on the upside, as a 0.1% expansion had been expected.
On an annual basis, economic activity rose at a faster rate of 1.4% in December (November: +1.3% yoy). Meanwhile, the trend was unchanged, and annual average growth of economic activity was 2.9% in December, mirroring November’s result.