- June 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Economy
(Adds detail about the April figures, economic context, chart)
By Jamie McGeever
BRASILIA, June 14 (Reuters) – Economic activity in Brazil rebounded in April from a rare fall the month before, a central bank index showed on Monday, marking a firm start to the second quarter although not quite as strong as economists had expected.
The central bank’s IBC-Br economic activity index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.44% in April, less than the 0.55% rise economists in a Reuters poll had forecast.
By this measure, activity in Latin America’s largest economy is a fraction higher than it was pre-pandemic in February last year.
The seasonally adjusted index in April stood at 139.65, just above the 139.35 seen in February last year before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a standstill and caused the biggest annual decline in activity since 1990.
Upbeat economic data in recent months have triggered a wave of upward…
