Brazil’s GDP Falls 0.2 Percent in the First Quarter of 2019

By Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The result was published today, May 30th, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). In current values, GDP totaled R$1.714 trillion (US$428 billion) in the first three months of the year.

The first quarter result is the first decline since the fourth quarter of 2016 (-0.6 percent).

Although disappointing, the result falls within market expectations, confirming the interpretation of more significant weakness in economic activity at the beginning of this year and worsening expectations.

In addition to representing a disruption to the recovery curve, negative GDP in the first quarter brings the risk of a renewed recession (technically characterized by two consecutive quarters of decline).

GDP is the sum of all goods and services produced within the country and serves as a measure of economic growth.