Manufacturers in Brazil enjoy best growth spell for almost seven years
Staff Writer |
The Brazilian manufacturing economy moved up a gear in November, underpinned by the strongest upturn in new order intakes for almost seven years.
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Goods producers responded to the positive demand environment by lifting output volumes accordingly and purchasing additional inputs for use in the production process.
Disruptions to supply chains nevertheless led to further declines in inventory holdings.
Survey data also showed a pick-up in inflationary pressures as the weaker currency resulted in higher prices paid for imported items.
Looking ahead, firms reassessed their projections for growth, with the degree of optimism the second-strongest observed.
Rising to an 81-month peak of 53.5 in November, from 51.2 in October, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Brazil Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) pointed to a robust improvement in the health of the sector.
Consumer goods was the best-performing category, although growth was also noted in intermediate and investment goods.
Brazilian manufacturers saw the sharpest upturn in new work for almost seven years.
External markets contributed to the rise in total new orders, but new export sales increased only moderately.
Output expanded at a pace not seen for nearly five years as companies responded to resilient underlying demand.
Another measure firms undertook was the hiring of extra workers.
That said, the rate of job creation was only mild.
To fulfil their order intakes, Brazilian manufacturers purchased more inputs in November.
Buying levels rose at a marked pace that was the most pronounce since January 2013.
Greater purchasing activity, combined with low stock levels at vendors and disruptions in external markets impacted on the supply stream.
The deterioration in vendor performance was the steepest in seven-and-a-half years.
Subsequently, stocks of purchases fell markedly and to the greatest extent since June.
Holdings of manufactured goods also decreased in November as firms utilised inventories to meet the rise in sales.
At the same time, companies continued to focus on the completion of outstanding work, with backlogs down at the quickest rate in four months.
In some cases, panellists reported productivity improvements.
Higher prices paid for commodities and other imported materials led cost inflation to surge to a 17-month peak in November.
Factory gate prices were raised as a consequence, with the rate of charge inflation the highest since February. â–