Brazil Services Growth Eases In December

(RTTNews) - Brazil's service sector remained in expansion zone in December, though it marked the weakest upturn in 2024, survey results published by S&P Global showed on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Brazil Services Business Activity Index dropped to 51.6 in December from 53.6 in the previous month. However, a score above 50 indicates expansion.

The overall growth in the Brazilian service sector was driven by demand resilience, which supported further rises in new orders, activity, and employment, the survey said.

Meanwhile, elevated price pressures were prevalent in the services economy, with input prices rising at the fastest rate in nearly two and a half years, linked to a substantial depreciation of the Brazilian real against the US dollar. As a result, companies hiked selling prices to the greatest extent since August 2024.

Looking ahead, companies remained confident about output expectations in 2025, but the overall level of positive sentiment slipped to its lowest since May 2021 as they were concerned about the potentially detrimental impact of public policies and economic conditions on their operations.

The composite output index dropped from 53.5 in November to 51.5 in December, indicating the weakest pace of expansion in the Brazilian private sector during 2024.