Weekly Report - 23 July 2026 (WR-26-29)

BRAZIL | Slight monthly increase in economic activity. The central bank (BCB) released new figures on 17 July for its economic activity index (IBC-Br), a proxy to anticipate GDP figures, showing a 0.1% monthly rise in activity in May this year. Economic activity in May was mainly driven by the industrial sector, which posted a monthly rise of 0.4%, while activity in the services sector rose by 0.1%. However, activity in the agricultural sector declined by 0.1% in monthly terms. In year-on-year terms, Brazil’s economic activity was up 0.8% in May this year, and the accumulated annual activity in the 12 months through May 2026 was up 1.4% compared with the preceding 12-month period.