* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released the latest figures for industrial production, which showed a decrease of 0.6% from June to July. This latest figure marks a 1.1% drop compared to the industrial production rate registered in July 2022 and is 2.3% lower than the industrial production registered in February 2020 – the level before the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The accumulated production for the first seven months of 2023 saw a 0.4% decrease from the same period in 2022. The monthly slowdown in production this July was evident across 15 of the 25 industrial categories measured. The categories which saw the most significant decreases were information technology & electronic products (-12.1%), clothing & accessories (-8.0%), and vehicles & car bodies (-6.5%).