Brazil's Industry Confidence Index (ICI) fell to 84.1 points in November, down 19.4 percent from the 104.4 points in October as a result of the international financial crisis, according to a report released by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) on Friday.

It was the lowest ICI registered since July 2003. The index fell 30.2 percent compared with that in the same month last year.

The FGV said that the low confidence level indicated a deceleration in economic activities in November and the worse business environment led to a pessimistic forecast for industrial performance in the following months.

The report also showed "a significant change" in the companies' perception on the demand for industrial products.

The companies which viewed the current demand as strong fell to 4.6 percent in November from 17.9 percent in October, while the companies which considered the demand weak reached 29.4 percent in November from 12.5 percent in October.

Among the 1,112 companies surveyed in the study, 23.3 percent foresaw better business performance in the following months, down from 38.1 percent in October. Some 27.7 percent believed that the business results would be worse, up from 11 percent last month.

The FGV study was conducted from November 3 to November 26.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2008)