Brazil's industrial production decreased for the third straight month in February, preliminary data from the statistical office IBGE showed on Wednesday.
Industrial production dropped 0.2 percent monthly in March, after a 0.3 percent decline in February. Economists had expected a slight decrease of 0.1 percent.
With this result, the national industry is 2.6 percent below the pre-pandemic level, of February 2020, and 19.0 percent below the record level of the series, reached in May 2011, the IBGE said.
Among the activities, the most important negative influences came from food products, chemical products, pharmochemicals, and pharmaceuticals, the agency said.
On a yearly basis, industrial production contracted 2.4 percent in March, reversing a 0.3 percent rebound in the prior month. The decline was largely driven by an 8.0 percent plunge in chemical product output.
