Brazil: Industrial activity slows down in November, says CNI

According to data from the Industrial Survey of CNI (National Confederation of Industry), released this Wednesday (14 Dec 2022), industrial production stood at 48.7 points in November, an increase of 0.2 points compared to the month of October.

According to the CNI, the slight increase in the index was not enough to change the scenario of decline in industrial production, which has been below the dividing line of 50 points since September.

Industrial employment also fell in November 2022. The index dropped 0.6 percentage points compared to October and ended the month at 49 points. The UCI (Isolated Capacity Utilization) remained at 71% and is below the level practiced in November of the last 2 years.

The manager of Economic Analysis at the CNI, Marcelo Azevedo, said that the result of the November Industrial Survey confirms what was expected for the end of this year, mainly in view of the more contractionary monetary policy.

“The industry presented good results until the middle of the year, but the effects of the high interest rates were accumulating, becoming quite intense. Sector activity is weaker in November and, as a consequence, we have expectations of less hiring and less investment,” he said.

STOCKS

The effective inventory index in relation to the planned one in November was 51.3 points. The result points to a level of inventories above that planned by businessmen. “Despite this, the data is 1.1 points lower than in October. The drop demonstrates a partial adjustment in inventories from October to November”, says the CNI.

EXPORTS

The index of expectation of exported quantity for December 2022 grew 1.1 points compared to November, reaching 50.7 points, which signals a forecast for an increase in exported quantities. The demand expectation index decreased from 51.4 points to 50.8 points. Despite the reduction, the indicator shows that expectations remain optimistic.

INVESTMENT

Research indicates that the investment intention index grew by 0.3 points in December 2022 compared to November. Despite the increase, the current value of 53.8 points is the 2nd lowest in 2022.

“The intention to invest lost strength in the last months of 2022, but remains relatively high. The index is above the historical average, of 51.4 points, but below the average from January to November 2022, of 56.8 points”, says the report.

CNI interviewed 1,684 businessmen between December 1st and December 10th.

With information from Agência Brasil

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