Brazilian manufacturing expanded in July at the fastest pace on record, a survey of purchasing managers' activity showed on Monday, roaring back to life from the depths of the COVID-19 crisis as new orders, confidence and hiring rebounded strongly. The highest level of new orders in over a decade and the strongest job growth in almost a year helped propel IHS Markit's headline Brazil manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) to 58.2 in July from 51.6 in June. The record expansion in July went "a long way" to closing the "considerable" gap in production that opened up from pre-COVID levels, said Paul Smith, economics director at IHS Markit.