Statistics agency IBGE said output declined 1.3% from the previous month, compared with the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists for a 0.1% rise. March's figure was revised to a 2.2% fall from a 2.4% decline.
February's 0.7% fall in industrial output was significantly weaker than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists for a 0.4% rise. The following chart shows that several months of slowing growth have finally turned into outright decline.
Statistics agency IBGE said the year-on-year rise was 0.4%, also well below the Reuters poll forecast of 1.5% growth.
In a press release following figures that showed the economy shrank 4.1% last year, the ministry said supportive monetary policy, widespread vaccinations, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms will boost confidence as the year progresses.
Latin America's largest economy grew by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to official statistics agency IBGE, more than the 2.8% median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists.
The 3.2% expansion in the fourth quarter was led by 2.7% growth in services, 3.4% expansion in household consumption, and a 20% surge in fixed business investment, IBGE said.
Factory gate prices rose 3.36% in January from the month before, almost touching the 3.4% increase registered last October, the highest since the IBGE series began in 2014.
The annual rate of producer price inflation in January was 23%, IBGE said.
The average unemployment rate last year was 13.5%, IBGE said, up from 11.9% the year before and the highest since the series began eight years ago.
The IBGE figures showed 86.2 million Brazilians had work, up 4.5%, or 3.7 million people, from the July-September period, although still down 8.9%, or 8.4 million people, from the same period a year earlier.
The public sector surplus excluding interest payments of 58.4 billion reais was more than the 50 billion reais surplus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and the overall deficit in the 12 months through January was worth 9.4% of gross domestic product.
The amount of outstanding loans in Brazil remained steady in the month at 4 trillion reais ($736 billion) and over the last 12 months loan growth accelerated 16%, the central bank said.
The current account deficit of 0.65% of gross domestic product in the 12 months to January was down from 0.87% the previous month and the smallest since February, 2008, central bank figures showed.
Brazil's current account deficit in the month of January was $7.25 billion, the second deficit in a row and slightly less than the $7.75 billion shortfall forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
That was down from the 0.78% rate of monthly inflation in January, but higher than the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 0.46% and enough to push the annual rate of inflation up to 4.57%.
Prices rose in six of the nine groups of goods and services covered by IBGE. Transport costs rose 1.1% in the month, accounting for almost half of the overall monthly increase.
Banco Itau's economics team, led by chief economist Mario Mesquita, on Friday raised its 2021 inflation forecast to 3.8% from 3.6%, citing strong industrial price pressures.
We emphasize that the (upward) pressure of industrial costs is also being seen in other economies, given the robust demand recovery after coronavirus shock and surging commodity prices.
The average forecast of the benchmark Selic rate at the end of this year rose to 3.75% from 3.50%, while the end-2022 forecast remained steady at 5.00%.
Economists at Barclays reckon the central bank will raise rates at its next policy meeting in March.
While December's 0.9% jump in output was far higher than economists had expected, the accumulated fall in output last year was 4.5%, more than four times the 1.1% contraction the year before.
Overall, this data release suggests that Brazil's economy ended 2020 on a positive note.
The public sector deficit in December excluding interest payments was 51.8 billion reais ($9.5 billion), the central bank said, close to the 51.5 billion reais median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists.
The nominal deficit in December including interest payments widened to 75.8 billion reais, the central bank said, resulting in an annual deficit of 1.02 trillion reais, or 13.7% of GDP.
It was the second month in a row the benchmark annual IPCA consumer inflation rate has been above 4%.
The annual rate of 4.5% in December exceeded the 4.4% median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and was higher than the central bank's year-end goal of 4.00%.