Rio de Janeiro — Brazil confirmed its slow exit from the country’s worst recession on record on Friday, with the economy edging up 0.2%, the second straight quarter to show growth, the official statistics office said.
The increase in GDP surprised analysts polled earlier by financial newspaper Valor, who had been expecting no movement for the second quarter of the year.
In the first quarter, Latin America’s biggest economy expanded 1%. Brazil plunged into negative growth with 3.8% shrinkage in 2015 and 3.6% in 2016, reversing what had been touted as one of the world’s most promising markets. Analysts blame the sharp drop in commodities prices, endemic corruption and the country’s inefficient economy.
The IBGE statistics office said that growth in the second quarter was driven by services, which accounted for one-third of economic output. The sector rose 0.6%, compared to zero movement in the first quarter.
However, industry shrank 0.5%, compared to 0.9% growth in the first quarter. Agriculture, which underpinned first-quarter growth thanks to bumper harvests, was flat in the second quarter.
AFP
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