BRASILIA (Reuters) – Economic activity in Brazil resumed expansion in September, though below expectations, still ending the quarter with positive data, central bank data showed on Monday.
The IBC-Br economic activity index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.05% in September from the month before, less than the 0.20% increase expected in a Reuters poll with economists.
But the rise was enough to guarantee a seasonally adjusted 1.36% expansion for the economy in the third quarter, according to central bank figures.
Official GDP data will be released on Dec 1. In the second quarter, GDP grew by 1.2%.
Economists had been expecting a slowdown in Latin America’s largest economy from the second half, affected by the central bank’s aggressive monetary policy cycle to tame inflation.
Still, the government’s official expectation is for the economy to rise by 2.7% this year, driven by higher private investment, resilient service activity and improved job market.
The IBC-Br index grew 4.00% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis from September 2021, and was up 2.34% in the 12 months, added the central bank.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Steven Grattan)