SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Services activity in Brazil rose 1.1% in July from June, the country’s statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, above the median 0.5% increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
When compared with the same month a year ago, services activity in Latin America’s largest economy was up 6.3%, also above the forecasted 5.8% boost.
After three consecutive months of growth, the services sector is 8.9% above level recorded in Feb. 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, said IBGE.
Three of the five activities surveyed by the agency posted a growth in July, led by the transports category, which rose 2.3%.
“This rebound in growth is quite significant and is linked to business-oriented services, such as information technology and cargo transportation,” said the survey manager Rodrigo Lobo in a note.
(Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Steven Grattan)
