Rio de Janeiro – Gross fixed capital formation, i.e. planned investment, grew 26.5% in the second quarter this year compared with the same period of 2009. Investment was one of the highlights of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the quarterly comparison, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
According to the IBGE’s manager of Coordination of National Accounts, Rebeca Palis, it is worth noting that the 26.5% growth rate was recorded as against a weak basis, namely the second quarter of 2009, during which a 16% decline had been recorded.
Nevertheless, Rebeca claims that as a result of the growth recorded, investment has already surpassed the levels achieved prior to the world economic crisis, which peaked in the last quarter of 2008.
"The growth was boosted precisely by domestic machinery and equipment production, and by imports of capital goods, which have been growing a lot, aided by the appreciation of the exchange rates. Another contributing factor was the expansion of civil construction itself, which also recorded a record-high rate, at 16.4%," she said.
With regard to the foreign sector, in the quarterly comparison, imports increased by 38.8%, a rate five times higher than that of exports, which grew 7.3%. One of the main reasons for this imbalance was the appreciation of the real against the dollar during the period. According to the IBGE, the exchange rate in the second quarter of 2009 was 2.07 reals per dollar. In the second quarter this year, the rate was 1.79 real per dollar.
Family consumption increased for the 27th consecutive time in the quarterly comparison, having grown 6.7% in the second quarter this year over the same period of 2009. "Family consumption continues to grow, boosted by the growth of total wages paid, which have increased by 7.3% in this quarter compared with the same period of last year," said Rebeca Palis.
Despite the continuous expansion, the rate of growth has decreased from the first to the second quarter this year, and reached 0.8% from one quarter to the other. To her, the cause for this decline is the end of fiscal incentives for automobile and major appliance purchases.
Government consumption, in turn, grew by 5.1% in the second quarter this year, compared with the same period of 2009. To the IBGE, the growth is partly due to the coming elections, which lead state and federal governments to spend more on advertising, for instance.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
