Americas: Consumption

Brazil’s gas demand will remain under pressure in the coming months as a result of the country’s weak economy and forecasts for healthy rainfall.

Brazil’s economy is going through a period of deep recession, which has reduced gas demand from the country’s industrial sector. The economy shrank by 2.9% on an annual basis in Q3 2016, marking its 10th consecutive quarter of contraction. The IMF expects Brazil’s GDP to expand by just 0.5% in 2017. The industrial sector, including petrochemicals, is the second-biggest consumer of gas in Brazil after the power sector and accounted for almost 28% of the country’s gas demand in 2015. GGA forecasts Brazil’s industrial gas demand to decline by 4.7% year on year in 2017, to 10.2 billion cubic metres.