GDP falls 0.2% in the first quarter of 2019

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2019 in relation to the fourth quarter of 2018.

PIB agro encerra 1º trimestre com resultado negativo https://t.co/a5bTJy5MbK pic.twitter.com/30C5oanLau

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This was the first negative result in this type of comparison since the fourth quarter of 2016 (-0.6%) and was largely caused by the reduction of industry (-0.7%) and agriculture (-0.5%).

A strong fall in the mining industry (-6.3%) also weighed heavily on the result. “The Brumadinho incident and the consequent state of alert on other mining sites affected the entire industry,” explains the IBGE Quarterly Accounts Manager, Claudia Dionísio.

The manufacturing (-0.5%) and construction (-2.0%) industries also affected services, which varied by 0.2%.

Two major groups of activities were also negative: trade (-0.1%) and transport and storage (-0.6%). “These activities depend largely on industrial production and reflect its performance in the quarter, which was negative for all economic categories,” says Claudia.

Other service activities have had positive results, such as information and communication (0.3%) and financial activities (0.4%).

Agriculture also had a negative variation in the period (-0.5%). Important harvests in the first quarter caused declines in the annual production estimate, such as soybeans (-4.4%) and rice (-10.6%), while maize and cattle raising had positive results.

Compared to the first quarter of 2018, household consumption increased by 1.3%, mainly due to the improvement in consumer credit and the increase in salaries during the period.

Source: IBGE

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