LatinNews Daily - 06 October 2021

* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released the latest figures for the industrial sector, which show that industrial production shrank 0.7% in August compared with July, the third consecutive negative monthly performance. In year-on-year terms, industrial production also shrank 0.7% in August, interrupting an 11-month streak of positive year-on-year expansion. In the 12 months to August, industrial production has expanded 7.2%, however the Ibge notes that industrial production levels are currently 2.9% below those of February 2020, before the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic hit. André Macedo, an Ibge researcher, explains that the pandemic’s effects continue to be felt on industrial production: “There is a breakdown in the production chain, which makes production costs more expensive and means there is a shortage of raw materials”, Macedo says, adding that a precarious labour market and lower salaries continue to squeeze domestic demand.  

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