Agência Brasil
Rio – Industrial production in Brazil fell 2.5% in July, in comparison with June. According to a note issued today (8) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the decline interrupted a four-month sequence of expansion. The Institute observes that the drop in this indicator was the largest since January, 2003, pushing the level of production back to a level only slightly higher than where it stood in April. When compared with July, 2004, Brazilian industrial production was up 0.5%.
The IBGE study shows that the decrease in industrial production in July affected 20 of the 23 activities surveyed, with the most significant declines coming in automotive vehicles (-4.6%), electrical materials and communications equipment (-10.7%), and machinery and equipment (-5.7%). Oil refining and alcohol production (2.6%), pharmaceuticals (4.2%), and cellulose and paper (1.7%) were the only sectors to grow in July, in relation to June.
Between January and July, domestic industrial production grew 4.3% overall, down from the 5.0% registered over the first six months of the year (between January and June). In terms of the 12 preceding months, industry maintained its tendency to decelerate, going from 6.7% in June to 5.8% in July.
