Brazil's national statistics agency, the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE), has reported that Brazilian industrial production rose 1.5 percent in August this year as compared to July, recording the third consecutive month-on-month increase. The IBGE said that the month-on-month increase was mainly driven by the 3.3 percent output increase in automotive vehicles.
However, industrial production was down two percent in August this year compared to August 2011, the twelfth consecutive negative rate in year-on-year comparison. The country's basic metal production fell by 5.5 percent in August this year, while the output in the motor vehicle sector fell by 11.2 percent, both compared to the same month of the previous year.
In the production index in Brazil for the first eight months of 2012, the decline was 3.4 percent for the overall industry on year-on-year basis. The index of production for motor vehicles was down 16.3 percent, continuing to exert a major negative influence on the formation of the overall index. The IBGE also mentioned the negative contribution of basic metals, which were down 4.6 percent year on year, in the total production index for the first eight months of the year.