Brazil: Economic activity rebounds in February
In February, economic activity increased 0.1% from the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, according to the Central Bank’s monthly indicator for economic activity (IBC-Br, Indice de Atividade Economica do Banco Central). The result contrasted January’s 0.6% contraction, but undershot market analysts’ expectations of a sharper 0.5% increase.
On an annual basis, economic activity rose 0.7% in February, which was notably below January’s 2.9% expansion and marked the slowest growth since June 2017. Annual average growth economic activity inched up from 1.2% in January to 1.3% in February, the best reading since July 2014.