The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for Brazil, together with Fundacao Getulio Vargas (TCB/FGV Brazil LEI), increased 0.1 percent in March. The index now stands at 124.9 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent decline in both February and January. Three of the eight components contributed positively to the index in March.
"Stock prices and trade drove the Leading Economic Index slightly higher in March, but continued short-term volatility in the index suggests that Brazil's economic growth will, at best, be very modest in the foreseeable future," says Paulo Picchetti, Economist at FGV/IBRE. "Meanwhile, weaknesses in industrial output outweighed the benefits of continued resiliency in the labor market, resulting in a slight decline in the Coincident Economic Index, which measures current conditions in the economy."