Production rises 2.4% in December in SP
Valor Econômico
The industrial activity of São Paulo grew strongly in December, helping the sector consolidate the forecast that 2010 will completely leave behind the effects of the global crisis that caused a record fall in 2009. The resumption will be based on the domestic demand and also on more exports, in a setting of global recovery.
The Level of Industrial Activity Index (INA) grew 2.4% in December compared to November, with the seasonal adjustment, the greatest increase since September, informed the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo. Unadjusted, the indicator fell 7.6%. Compared to December 2008, there was a 21.1% increase, largely due to the weak base of comparison. In 2009 as a whole, the activity had an 8.5% fall, the biggest one of the series started in 2003, after climbing 4.2% up in 2008.
For 2010, Paulo Francini, Economic Director of the Fiesp estimates growth of 13.5%, a result which, if confirmed, would be the second best performance in the series, only behind the 13.8% growth registered in 2004. "Nearly nine percentage points of those 13.5% come from statistical loading, after the 2009 retreat, but the data provides us with a recovery horizon", he said.
He mentioned the Fiesp Sensor, an indicator that measures the mood of the entrepreneur in the current month. The index remained above the line of 50 that divides optimism and pessimism, at 53.9 points in January, compared to 50.7 in December. The level of use of the installed capacity, with seasonal adjustment, increased to 83.2% in December - it had reached 82% in November and 78.2% in December 2008. Francini evaluates such level as comfortable and said that there is still room to grow without pressuring the prices.