Brazilian small-scale industry sees best Q3 performance since 2012
Source: Xinhua | 2020-11-13
Brazil's post-pandemic economic reopening has seen signs of thriving small scale industry, which had its best third quarter since 2012, the National Industry Confederation (CNI) said Wednesday.
According to the CNI's Small Industry Outlook, the performance index of this industrial segment closed the third quarter of 2020 at 52.3 points, compared to 41.3 points in the previous quarter.
In April, a month after the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Brazil, the index fell to its lowest level of 27.1 points.
The CNI survey also reflected an improvement in the financial situation of small industry, following the initial shock from the pandemic.
The Financial Situation Index reached 41.9 points in the third quarter, up by 8.7 points from the second quarter, marking the best performance since the fourth quarter of 2013.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October revised upwards Brazil's forecast of 9.1-percent contraction to 5.8-percent decrease this year, warning the country still faces "exceptionally high and multifaceted" risks.
"Significant" downside risks could include "a second wave of the pandemic, long-term scarring from a protracted recession, and vulnerability to confidence shocks given Brazil's high level of public debt," said the IMF in a report.
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