São Paulo – Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was down 0.2% in quarter one (Q1) this year over Q4 2014. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported this Friday (29th) contractions of 0.3% in industry production and 0.7% in services. Of the three sectors of economy, the only one that grew was agriculture, up 4.7% in Q1 2015 from Q4 2014.
Trade and industry had the poorest results. In industry, mineral extraction was down 3.3% and civil construction dropped by 1.1%. Electricity, water, gas, sewage and urban cleaning services were down 4.3%, and processing industry activity dropped 1.6%. According to IBGE National Accounts coordinator Rebeca Palis, these factors weighed down on GDP the most.
Services, transportation, storage and postal services had a 2.1% decline; administration, healthcare and public education were down1.4%; financial intermediation and insurance were down 0.8% and trade was down 0.4%. Real estate activity increased 1.2% and information services were up 1.1%.
There was also a slowdown on the spending front. Family consumption was down 1.5%; government consumption was down 1.3% and gross fixed capital formation, which gauges corporate investment in machinery and equipment purchases and expansion, was down 1.3%.
GDP declined even further in Q1 from Q1 2014, at -1.6%. In the 12-month period through March, the Brazilian economy shrank by 0.9%. Overall, Brazil’s GDP reached R$ 1.408 trillion in Q1 this year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
