Brasília – Brazil’s economy slowed in July after going up in May and June. The Brazilian Central Bank’s season-adjusted Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br), was down 0.16% in July from June, the monetary authority reported this Friday (13).
Activity was up 1.31% year-on-year in July 1.07% in the 12 months through April, and 0.78% year-to-date through July.
The IBC-Br is designed to track economic activity, informing Central Bank policymaking regarding the benchmark interest rate (known as the Selic). The index factors in information about the three sectors of economy: industry, trade and services, and agriculture, plus tax collection figures.
Although the Central Bank attempts to approximate economic behavior, the official indicator is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
