Brazil's industrial output contracts 0.2% in February

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Brazil’s industrial production contracted 0.2% in February on a monthly basis, according to data released Wednesday.

While the market expectation for the figure was to show a decline of 0.1%, it decreased 0.2% in January.

Food and chemical products contracted 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively, while pharmaceuticals' output fell 4.5% in February, the country’s Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said in a statement.

On an annual basis, industrial production plummeted 2.4% in February.

The market expectation for the annual figure was a decrease of 1.9%.