Brasília – Economic activity in Brazil in 2015 was the weakest ever registered by the Brazilian Central Bank. Its Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br) dropped 4.08% last year, the worst result since records started being kept in 2003. The second-poorest result, a 1.71% decline, came in 2009 during the world economic crisis. In 2014 from 2013, the economy shrank 0.15%, according to revised numbers released this Thursday (18).
In Q4 from Q3 2015, the economy contracted 1.87% as per seasonally adjusted data. In Q4 from Q4, 2014, it was down 6.34%. The IBC-Br shrank 0.52% in In December from November and 6.51% in December from December 2014.
The IBC-Br tracks the evolution of Brazilian economic activity. It incorporates information on activity levels in industry, trade and services, and agriculture. The official economic performance indicator is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), computed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). GDP numbers for 2015 are slated for release by the IBGE on March 3.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
