Brazil’s Industrial Business Confidence Index rose by 1.3 points in October 2026, reaching 46.2 from 44.9 in September. Despite this improvement, the indicator remained below the neutral 50-point mark, signaling continued pessimism in the industrial sector for the 22nd consecutive month.
The overall advance was entirely driven by better expectations, especially regarding firms’ own business prospects. The Expectations Index increased by 2.1 points to 49.3. Within this index, the subcomponent tracking expectations for companies’ own business conditions rose 1.0 point to 52.3, moving further into optimistic territory. Expectations for Brazil’s overall economy also improved, with that component climbing 4.3 points to 43.4, though it remained in negative territory.
In contrast, current assessments continued to deteriorate. The Current Conditions Index slipped 0.2 point to 40.0, its lowest reading since July 2020. This decline was mainly due to a weaker evaluation of firms’ own current conditions, whose component fell 0.5 point to 43.3. On the other hand, perceptions of Brazil’s current economic situation showed a slight improvement, with that component edging up 0.3 point to 33.3.
