In the same
comparison, considering the seasonally
adjusted series, the main highlight was
industry (2.1%), followed by
services (1.2%).
Agriculture had negative change of 0.1%.
Compared
to the second quarter of 2008,
GDP faced decrease of 1.2%, a result of the
decrease of 0.9% of value added at basic
prices and of the reduction of 2.8% of
excise tax.
Among the
activities, the highlight in this comparison
was services (2.4%). On the
other hand, industry fell by
7.9% and agriculture, by 4.2%.
In four
quarters (12 months),
GDP increased 1.3% in relation to the four
immediately previous quarters. Considering
the index accumulated
in the year (1st semester of 2009), GDP
fell by 1.5% in relation to the same period
in 2008, and services alone
(2.1%), whereas industry
(-8.6%) and agriculture (-3.0%)
fell.
In terms of
current values, GDP reached R$ 756.2
billion in the second quarter of 2009.
Compared to
the first quarter of the year, in relation
to the components of internal demand, the
increase of household consumption
expenditure was 2.1%. General
government consumption expenditure
had negative change of 0.1%. Gross
formation of fixed capital (FBCF,
the same as planned investment) remained
stable, without change. In
the foreign sector, both exports and imports
of goods and services present increase of
14.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
September 11,
2009.
(Source:
Wall Street Journal)
Brazil's
Finance Minister Sees 1% GDP Growth In 2009
BRASILIA
(Dow Jones)--Brazil's economy should pull
out of a recent recession to grow by up to
1% in 2009 as demand shows a strong
recovery, Finance Minister Guido Mantega
said Friday.
Speaking at
a press conference following the release of
second-quarter growth figures, Mantega said
that expanded credit availability and a firm
return of consumption were helping turn
around a sluggish local economy.
"Brazil is
showing a very fast recovery and this
consolidates the possibility that we will
post positive economic growth this year,"
Mantega said.
Brazil's
gross domestic product expanded 1.9% in the
second quarter compared with the first
quarter this year, the Brazilian Census
Bureau, or IBGE, reported Friday. That was
higher than the 1.64% advance estimated by
18 economists in a Dow Jones Newswires
survey.
The
second-quarter growth ended a technical
recession brought on by shrinking GDP over
the previous two quarters.
Mantega
said that based on recent data the country
should grow between 2% and 3% in the third
quarter and continue to expand through the
remainder of the year.
"The
projection that we have for the second half
of the year is positive growth of 3.5%," he
said. "This rate will allow for GDP growth
in 2009 of 1%."
Additionally, the finance minister Friday
projected 4.5% growth in 2010.
Mantega's
projections contrasted with less optimistic
forecasts made recently by private
economists.
According
to the Central Bank of Brazil's latest
market surveys, the nation's economy is seen
contracting by about 0.2% in 2009 and
expanding by about 4% in 2010.
Mantega
based his forecast for a swift return to
growth on timely government stimulus
efforts, including generous tax cuts on
consumer goods, hikes to government spending
and an aggressive monetary policy easing
cycle.
Brazil's
central bank has cut the country's reference
Selic interest rate by 5 percentage points
so far this year to a record low 8.75%
annually.
The finance
minister Friday also highlighted the Brazil
economy's healthy position ahead of a global
downturn last year as an important reason
for its recent resumption in growth.
"The great
strength of Brazil is its domestic market,
which remained strong even during the
greater repercussion of an international
crisis," he said.
Brazil's
manufacturing sector led the economic
recovery in the second quarter, advancing
2.1% from the first quarter, according to
the IBGE. The service sector expanded 1.2%,
while diminished global demand for
commodities weighed against the agricultural
sector. Agriculture output slipped 0.1% in
the second quarter versus the first quarter.
Year-on-year figures, however, still showed
a tough path for Brazil's economy to resume
heated growth seen in early 2008. Brazil's
GDP decreased 1.2% in the second quarter
versus the second quarter of 2008, the IBGE
said.
Brazil's
economy contracted by 1% in the first
quarter of this year and by 3.4% in the
fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the
respective previous quarters.
Brazil
posted growth of 5.1% during the entire year
in 2008.
-By Gerald
Jeffris, Dow Jones Newswires;
5561-3335-0832; gerald.jeffris@dowjones.com
(Rogerio
Jelmayer in Sao Paulo contributed to this
article.)
