Brazilian economic activity increased in December last year, according to data released today (12) by the Central Bank (BC). It is the eighth consecutive month of growth, after the falls of March and April, due to the social isolation measures necessary to face the covid-19 pandemic.

The Central Bank's Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br), seasonally adjusted (adjusted for the period), expanded by 0.64% in December compared to November. In comparison with December 2019, there was also an increase of 1.34% (without adjustment for the period, since the comparison is between equal months).

However, in the year to date, the indicator was negative at 4.05%.

The IBC-Br is a way of assessing the evolution of Brazilian economic activity and helps the Central Bank to make decisions about the basic interest rate, the Selic, currently set at 2% per year. The index incorporates information on the level of activity of the three sectors of the economy: industry, trade and services and agriculture, in addition to the volume of taxes.

O indicador foi criado pelo Banco Central para tentar antecipar, por aproximação, a evolução da atividade econômica. Entretanto, o indicador oficial é o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB, soma dos bens e serviços produzidos no país), calculado pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), que ainda será divulgado. A estimativa da equipe econômica do governo federal é que o PIB deve registrar queda por volta de 4,5%, em 2020.