Brazil Economic Activity Expands for Second Straight Month

Brazil's IBC-Br economic activity index rose 0.6% month-on-month in February 2026, following a 0.8% gain in January and largely in line with forecasts of 0.5%. The industrial sector led expansion, up 1.2% after a 0.4% rise in January, followed by the taxes index, up 0.8% after a 0.5% gain. Agriculture and livestock rebounded 0.2% after contracting 1.5% in January, while the services sector rose 0.3% following a 0.8% gain. On an annual basis, the index contracted 1.3% in February.

Brazil's IBC-Br economic activity index rose 0.8% month-on-month in January 2026, following a 0.2% decline in December and largely in line with forecasts of 0.85%, marking the sharpest monthly increase in a year. The services sector expanded 0.8%, rebounding from a 0.3% drop in the prior month, while industrial activities grew 0.4%, following a 0.3% rise. The taxes index also edged up 0.5%. In contrast, the agriculture and livestock sector contracted 1.5% after a 2.3% expansion in December. Excluding agriculture and livestock, the IBC-Br expanded 0.9%. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the index rose 1.0% year-on-year.

Brazil’s IBC-Br economic activity index fell 0.2% month-on-month in December 2025, after rising 0.7% in November, but performed better than expectations of a 0.5% contraction. This marked the sharpest monthly decline since July. The drop was driven by services, which fell 0.3% after a 0.6% increase in November. Meanwhile, agriculture and livestock expanded 2.3%, rebounding from a 0.3% decline, and industrial output rose 0.3%, following a 0.8% gain in the previous month. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the index increased 3.1% year-on-year in December.