Rio de Janeiro – Despite reaching record levels in May, on expanding 1.3% in comparison with the previous month, Brazilian industry is still growing moderately, reflecting the macroprudential measures adopted by the government for the reduction of credit, according to the Industrial Coordination manager at the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), André Macedo.
"With this result, industry has returned to operating at the same level as in March, after a reduction in April. But on a month by month analysis, the rhythm of production is more moderate. In March, the sector grew 0.3%, last month there was reduction of 1.2% and in May there was compensation of this drop,” he explained.
According to Macedo, this scenery is confirmed by the accumulated result for the last 12 months, which remains positive, but less intense as months go by.
From April to May, the growth was spread among the several sectors, reaching 19 of the 27 areas researched, mainly foods (3.9%), metal products (12.8%) and vehicles (3.5%). Macedo pointed out that in the auto industry, production of lorries and auto parts has risen, whereas vehicles were affected by strikes and difficulties in obtaining raw materials.
*Translated by Mark Ament
