ISTANBUL 

Brazil's service sector annually expanded 2.7% in April, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) data released on Thursday.


This marked the 26th consecutive positive rate for the figure, IBGE said in a statement.

The result in April, however, came much lower than the market expectation of a 5.9% annual gain.

It also showed a significant slowdown from the 6.5% year-on-year increase in March.

The service industry, on the other hand, contracted 1.6% in April, compared to the previous month.


While the market estimate for the figure was to remain unchanged on a monthly basis, services volume increased 1.4% in March.

The transportation sector showed a contraction of 4.4% in April, while information and communication services declined 1%, according to IBGE figures.