Rio, 2/9/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Industrial output fell 1% last December, compared to November, reports the Statistical Bureau (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística ) (IBGE). The drop in December came on the heels of five consecutive months of growth, totalling a cumulative rise 7.5% in production.

According to Silvio Sales, of the IBGE, the drop in December does not mean the beginning of a period of lower output although production fell in most economic segments. The IBGE survey showed that in the Mechanical segment the drop in output was 3.6%, following cumulative growth of 12.7% in the five months before December. (AB)