Overall output jumped 0.8% in August from July, government statistics agency IBGE said, the first increase in four months and more than twice as fast as the 0.3% rise expected in a Reuters poll of economists. It was the biggest increase since a 12.8% surge in June last year. Barring that anomalous rebound from an 11.1% plunge in the previous month because of a nationwide truckers' strike, it was the fastest rate of growth since December 2017.
The biggest driver was mining. It grew by 6.6% on the month, the fourth monthly increase, which brought the accumulated rise in that period to 25.2%. But IBGE noted that this followed three monthly declines when output fell an accumulated 24.2%.