Economic Activity Falls 0.16 Percent in July

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian economy registered a decline in July after rising in the previous two months. The Central Bank’s Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br) seasonally adjusted (adjusted for the period), shrank 0.16 percent in relation to June, according to data released today, September 13th, by the Central Bank (BC).

In comparison with July 2018, there was an increase of 1.31 percent (without adjustment for the period since the comparison is between equal months). In the 12 months ending in April, the indicator grew 1.07 percent. For the year, the IBC-Br was 0.78 percent.

The IBC-Br is a way of evaluating the evolution of Brazilian economic activity and helps the Central Bank make its decisions on the basic interest rate, the Selic. The index incorporates information on the level of activity of the three sectors of the economy: industry, commerce and services, and agriculture and ranching, in addition to the volume of taxes.

The indicator was created by the Central Bank to try to anticipate, by approximation, the evolution of economic activity. However, the official indicator is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), calculated by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Source: Agência Brasil