Economic activity has dropped in the second quarter this year. According to the Central Bank's Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br) seasonally adjusted considering typical cyclical variations, it went down 1.2% in the second quarter this year as against the previous quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2013, the decrease was 1.54% based on the unadjusted data.

The IBC-Br has also had a monthly decrease going from 1.48% in June compared to May (seasonally adjusted). That was the largest decline since May 2013, when the index dropped 1.68%.

In the first half, however, the economic activity grew 0.13%, or 1.5% in the annualized index for the 12-month period ending in June. In seasonally adjusted terms, the expansion in 12 months was 1.41%.

The IBC-Br is a tool to measure the evolution of economic activity in Brazil. The index is based on information related to the level of activity in the three economic sectors – industry, trade and services, and farming.