Brasília – The indicator of manufacturing costs declined 1% in Q1 2019 from Q4 2018, using seasonally adjusted data. This is the sharpest decline since Q2 2016, reported this Wednesday (12) the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). The decrease in manufacturing costs was driven by a 2.7% decline in the costs of domestic and imported intermediate goods used to manufacture other products.
According to CNI, the costs of domestic intermediate goods slid 2.5% in Q1 from Q4 2018. Over the same period, the costs of imported intermediate goods slid 4% due to the appreciation of the real. “One of the main contributing factors for the cost decline was the exchange rate. The real appreciation in Q1 made imported goods cheaper, which has translated into smaller domestic good prices,” says CNI research executive manager Renato da Fonseca.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
