Brazil: Manufacturing PMI rises in March
Conditions in Brazil’s manufacturing sector strengthened in March according to the IHS Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which rose from 53.2 in February to 53.4 in March—the best result since November 2017. As a result, the PMI moved further above the crucial 50-threshold that separates expansion from contraction in business conditions in the manufacturing sector, where it has been for eight consecutive months.
The rise in the index was attributed to pick-ups in new orders and output, which grew at the second-fastest rates in over five years. In addition, firms added jobs for the sixth month in a row and purchased larger amounts of inputs in March. Regarding prices, input cost inflation rose amid higher prices for raw materials.