Brasília – Economic activity in Brazil rose 9.84% in the first quarter of the year, as against the same period in 2009. These figures are in the Economic Activity Index of the Central Bank (IBC-Br). In comparison with the last quarter of 2009, the growth was 2.38%.
The IBC-Br is a form of anticipating the evolution of economic activity and contributing to the Central Bank’s decision on the benchmark interest rate, Selic. When the institution believes that the economy is heated and the inflation trajectory is on the rise, the Selic is raised, as was the case in April, at the last meeting of the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom), which raised the interest rate from 8.75% a year to 9.50%.
The Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) should only disclose its result for growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil in the first quarter of this year on June 8th.
Initially, the index of economic activity was calculated considering some states and regions in the country, but this year, it gained international coverage and started being disclosed monthly. The index includes figures for agriculture, industry and services.
*Translated by Mark Ament
