BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian industrial confidence crashed to its lowest level on record in April, a survey showed on Friday, as the lockdowns and sudden halt to swathes of activity lashed Latin America’s largest economy.
The Fundacao Getulio Vargas’s national industrial confidence index slumped to 58.0 in April from 97.5 the month before, according to preliminary findings, marking the biggest month-on-month decline since the data series began in 2009.
The plunge in confidence is the result of a sharp deterioration in business leaders’ view of the current situation and pessimism in relation to the outlook for the next three to six months, FGV said, noting that the expectations index dropped by 47.3 points to 48.9 points.
Brazil’s economy is expected to enter a deep recession this year, contracting by more than 5%, according to International Monetary Fund and World Bank estimates.
That would be the biggest economic crash in a single year in at least half a century, according to central bank data.
(Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
