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Bloomberg
Brazil’s industrial output unexpectedly rose in April, adding to indications that Latin America’s largest economy is close to hitting bottom.
Production rose 0.1 percent in April after a 1.4 percent jump in March, the national statistics agency said on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro. That surprised all but one of the 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, whose median forecast was for a 0.9 percent drop. From a year earlier, industrial production fell 7.2 percent, and it’s been more than two full years since Brazil recorded year-on-year growth.
The industry data followed a smaller-than-expected contraction for the Brazilian economy in the first quarter. Business and consumer confidence levels have started to recover from all-time lows since President DilmaRousseff was suspended from office pending her impeachment trial. The new administration of Michel Temer, who assumed the presidency on an interim basis last month, is working on measures to revert the economic downturn.
Output of capital goods in April, a barometer of investment, rose 1.2 percent after a revised 3 percent increase the previous month, the statistics institute said. Production of intermediate goods rose 0.5 percent. Production rose in 11 of the 24 sectors of the economy, including a 4.6 percent jump in food products.