BRASÍLIA: Industrial production in Brazil fell 5.2 percent in January compared with the same month last year, despite a two percent rise for the month.

The government statistics agency IBGE said Wednesday that production had been falling since last March and was down 3.5 percent over 12 months.

Lst year, Brazil registered fourth straight year of anaemic growth, with its public accounts going into deficit and joblessness rising albeit from historically low levels.

Brazilian GDP fell in 2014 and the central bank's latest forecast is for Latin America's largest economy to shrink 0.58 percent this year.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015