Brazil Manufacturing Growth Strongest In 14 Months

(RTTNews) - The Brazilian manufacturing activity expanded at the quickest pace in over a year in April amid a rebound in international sales growth, survey data from S&P Global showed on Monday.

The purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the manufacturing sector climbed to 52.6 in April from 49.0 in March. Any score below 50 indicates contraction, while a reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

Production volumes increased for the first time in a year and to the greatest extent since March 2025. The upturn was driven by higher demand for certain products as clients feared further price increases due to the war in the Middle East, along with attempts to raise contingency stocks.

The growth in new export orders accelerated to the strongest in more than a year amid more client gains from Argentina, Italy, Mexico, and Poland. Meanwhile, total new orders logged a further decline due to challenging domestic conditions, competitive pressures, and subdued demand.

On the price front, input price inflation accelerated markedly, pushed up by higher costs for freight, fuel, oil, and, subsequently, several other materials. As a result, selling price inflation rose to the greatest extent in the survey history except for that seen from September 2020 to June 2021.

Brazilian manufacturers faced supply-chain bottlenecks in April as the war in the Middle East led to shipment cancellations and material shortages among vendors.

Firms continued to add workforce numbers, with the rate of job creation being the quickest since February 2025 amid continued fall outstanding business volumes.

Looking ahead, firms expressed positive expectations about growth prospects as they hope for an end to the Middle East war.