Brazilian Economy Stagnates In Q4

(RTTNews) - The Brazilian economy stalled for the second straight quarter in the three months ending December, according to figures released on Friday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE.

Gross domestic product remained flat in the fourth quarter, the same as in the third quarter. In contrast, economists had expected a 0.1 percent expansion.

In the third quarter, the economy logged growth of 0.8 percent.

Among sectors, output in the industrial and service sectors contributed positively to GDP, while the agriculture sector contracted sharply by 5.3 percent.

On the expenditure side, household consumption fell 0.2 percent, while government consumption and investments showed an increase of 0.9 percent. Exports increased slightly by 0.1 percent, and imports climbed by 0.9 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP growth improved somewhat to 2.1 percent from 2.0 percent in the third quarter. The expected growth was 2.2 percent.

"The stagnation in Brazil's GDP in Q4 and the decline in household consumption confirmed that the economy lost momentum sharply and, while we expect a pick-up in growth in the coming quarters, we're now more confident in our below-consensus 2024 GDP growth forecast of 1.3 percent, William Jackson, chief economist at Capital Economics, said.