Industry confidence rises 8.9 points in August compared to July, to 98.7 points

The Getulio Vargas Foundation's (FGV) Industry Confidence Index (ICI) rose 8.9 points in August to 98.7 points. With the result, the index reached the fourth month in a row of high and recovered 40.5 points from 43.2 points lost in March and April, a recovery of 93.8%.
Of the 19 industrial segments surveyed, 18 recorded increased confidence, reflecting positive evaluations about the current moment and also in relation to the next three months, according to FGV.
The Current Situation Index (ISA) reached 97.8 points, up 8.7 points from last month.
The Expectations Index (EI) rose 9.1 points to 99.6 points in total, up from 96.2 points recorded in March, but below February's 101.8 points.
All indicators of EI components registered a high: expected production (plus 8.8 points, reaching 107.8), expected employment (plus 9.3 points, reaching 102.3) and business environment in the following months (8.7 more reaching 88.8). The 100-point level is considered neutral.
Among the components in the ISA, the current business situation was the biggest positive influence, rising 12.1 points to 99.1. The level of inventories advanced 8.8 points and was at 99.0. Demand grew 4.7, reaching 95.7 points.
The Level of Utilization of Installed Capacity (Nuci) was increased by 3 percentage points, from 72.3% in July to 75.3% in August. Thus, it reached the same level as in March and is 0.9 percentage point from the February level (76.2%).
Economist Renata de Mello Franco, from the Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE/FGV), called the rise in ICI in recent months as "consistent and widespread", with the perception of business people that the economy is approaching the pre-pandemic level.
"For the coming months, expectation indicators show some optimism, with more than 40% of the sector predicting an increase in the pace of production. However, we note that there is still a lot of uncertainty in companies, evidenced by the difficulty of recovering the business trend indicator," says the economist.