08/05/2008 08h29
Sales in industry grow 8.4% until June
Valor Econômico 08/05/2008
The National Industrial Confederation (CNI) believes the Brazilian economy will cool down in the next months. The manager of the unit for Research, Evaluation and Development of CNI, Renato da Fonseca, said yesterday, in Florianópolis, at the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc), that he expects a cooling down of the economic growth, mainly on account of the increase of the interest rates in July by Central Bank, that increased the Selic (Special system for settlement and custody) rate by 0.75 percent, up to 13% a year. A less favorable setting in this second half of the year for the industrial sector will be opposed to the fast growth rhythm seen throughout the first six months of the year. Data released yesterday by CNI show that, in June, there was an increase of 2% in Industry's actual sales compared to May (unseasoned data), interrupting a fall trajectory of 0.2% presented in May. Employment grew 0.5% in Industry in June and the worked hours grew 1.5% compared to the previous month. The real salary mass was the only indicator that withdrew: 0.3%. For the half-yearly situation, the data is even more positive. It shows that the real sales grew 8.4%, the hours worked increased by 5.9%, the number of formal jobs grew 4.4% and the real salary mass increased 5.6%, always compared to last year's same period. And that occurred with little increase in the use of the installed capacity: from 82.2% in June 2007, to 83.3% last June. According to CNI, the growth rhythm of the sales' income was pushed up by three sectors: vehicles, which grew 24.4% in the half, electric and communication material (increase of 23%) and also the category called other transportation equipment, which grew 20.1%. The only two sectors that presented a retreat in real sales in the half were: wood (8% fall) and chemical products (8.6% retreat).
