Brazil witnessed a contraction in its industrial production in January, following an expansion over the past two months, according to preliminary figures released by the statistical office IBGE on Wednesday.
In January, industrial production saw a monthly drop of 1.6%, reversing the trend seen in December which featured a revised growth of 1.6%. Among the industries, mining and quarrying sectors reported a notable decline of 6.3%. The output of food products also fell by 5.0% when compared to the preceding month.
However, on an annual basis, industrial production in January rose 3.6%, which is a faster pace than the 1.0% growth seen in the preceding month. These figures exceeded the initially predicted gain of 2.8%.
