Brazil Industrial Production Declines in June

Brazil's industrial production fell 1.8% month over month in June 2026, marking its second consecutive monthly contraction and compared with forecasts of a 0.8% drop. All four major economic categories and 16 of the 25 industrial sectors surveyed posted declines. The sharpest drops came from coke, refined petroleum products and biofuels (-5.9%), chemicals (-4.3%), food products (-1.9%), pharmaceuticals (-11.0%), apparel and accessories (-11.0%), computers and electronic products (-8.9%), and other transport equipment (-8.6%). Among the major categories, semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-4.1%) and durable consumer goods (-3.2%) recorded the steepest declines, while capital goods and intermediate goods both fell 1.1%. Despite the monthly weakness, industrial production was up 1.5% in the first half of 2026.

Brazil's industrial production fell 0.2% in May 2026 from the previous month, missing expectations of a 0.3% growth and marking its first monthly decline of the year after a 0.7% increase in April. The downturn was broad-based, with three of the four major industrial categories and 8 of the 25 industries surveyed posting declines. The largest negative contributions came from coke, refined petroleum products and biofuels (-6.1%) and extractive industries (-2.6%). Additional declines were recorded in food products (-1.3%), textiles (-4.0%), printing and recorded media (-8.1%), and computers, electronic and optical products (-2.0%). Among the 16 industries that expanded, the main gains came from pharmaceuticals (13.1%), motor vehicles (4.1%), and chemicals (3.1%), followed by metallurgy (2.3%), apparel (4.7%), other transport equipment (4.7%), electrical machinery (2.6%), and machinery and equipment (1.2%). Compared with May 2025, industrial production edged up 0.2%.

Brazil’s industrial production rose 0.7% in April 2026 from the previous month, beating forecasts of 0.4% following a 0.3% increase in March and marking the fourth consecutive monthly expansion. Growth was broad-based, with 14 of the 25 industrial activities surveyed posting gains. The main positive contributions came from extractive industries (3.1%) and coke, refined petroleum products and biofuels (3.1%), both extending their growth streak to five months. Additional gains were recorded in rubber and plastic products (3.1%), wood products (8.5%), textiles (4.1%), and electrical machinery and equipment (2.2%). On the downside, chemicals fell 3.9%, reversing part of the previous month's 4.5% increase. Other declines were seen in pharmaceuticals (-6.0%), machinery and equipment (-2.9%), motor vehicles (-0.7%), and metallurgy (-1.0%). Compared with April 2025, industrial production increased 2.7%.