Industrial production in Brazil increased 2.2 percent in July compared to the previous month and declined 9.9 percent in July compared to the same month last year, reported on Monday the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
July's performance was the best since the global financial crisis hit the Brazilian economy last September, said the IBGE. July was also the seventh consecutive month in which output increased.
The largest growth in July over June was seen in the machinery and equipment sector, for which production increased 8.9 percent, followed by the metals sector with a 4.5 percent hike.
Still when compared to last year's figures, 23 out of the 27 industrial sectors measured by the IBGE declined in July. From January to July, Brazil's industrial production fell 12.8 percent compared to the same months of last year.
The sectors with the worst performance during the first 7 months of this year were: automobiles (-23.3 percent), machinery and equipment (-27.7 percent), and basic metals (-26.5 percent).
The IBGE also revised its June's production figure on Monday and clarified that June's increase over May was of 0.4 percent instead of the 0.2 percent it previously reported.