Brazil Factory Output Shrinks

Industrial output in Brazil shrank at the steepest rate in seven months in March, a bigger-than-expected decline highlighting uncertainty about a long-awaited economic recovery despite a string of interest rate cuts. Industrial production fell 1.8% from February, government statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday. The median forecast of economists in a Reuters poll predicted a decline of 1%. Industrial output has returned to 2009 levels as the country plunged into its deepest recession ever, driving up unemployment and adding to discontent ahead of next year’s wide-open presidential election. Output fell in 15 out of the 24 industrial sectors surveyed by IBGE, including automakers, pharmaceutical companies and oil refineries.