BRASILIA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Economic activity in Brazil registered a 9.73 percent drop in April compared to March, marking the biggest decrease since records were kept in 2003, the Central Bank of Brazil said on Thursday.
According to the bank's economic activity index (IBC-Br), the seasonally adjusted figure for April reflects the impact the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on Latin America's biggest economy, which began to suffer the effects of lockdown measures starting in mid-March.
Compared to April 2019, the index fell 15.09 percent with no seasonal adjustment made because the comparison is between two similar periods.
In March, the first month to feel the pinch of anti-pandemic measures, the index slipped 6.16 percent compared to February.
In the first four-month period of 2020, the index shrank 4.15 percent, and in the past 12 months ending in April, the index dipped 0.52 percent.
Given the health emergency, Brazil's Economy Ministry has forecast a 4.7 percent contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) for the year, while private financial analysts have forecast a 6.51 percent drop in GDP.
In 2019, Brazil's economy grew 1.1 percent, the weakest growth in three years.
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