Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year from the prior quarter, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics said on Friday (29). Year-on-year, GDP declined by 0.3%. In the twelve months through March, GDP grew by 0.9%.
The decline in the first quarter was the first quarter-on-quarter contraction since H4 2018. According to IBGE, H1 GDP was affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures adopted across the country in mid-March.
The contraction was mainly driven by services, which declined by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter. But industry also posted a 1.4% decline. Agribusiness was the only sector to grow (0.6%).
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
PUBLICIDADE
