Brazil s GDP contracts 0.2 % in 2009(69913)

Brazil s GDP contracts 0.2 % in 2009

From: Xinhua

Brazil s economy shrunk by 0.2 percent in 2009 despite growth recorded in three consecutive quarters during the year, the government reported last Thursday.

The downfall, attributed to the global financial crisis, marked the first annual contraction of the country's GDP since 1992.

Total gross domestic product (GDP) was 3.143 trillion reais (1.77 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics said.

Agriculture, industry and investment were the worst-hit areas, registering decrease of 9.9, 5.2 and 5.5 percent respectively.

But consumer spending went up by 4.1 percent, thanks to the government s stimulus measures, including tax cuts. The government s expenses also grew by 3.7 percent.

The per capita GDP of the country totaled 16,414 reais (9,273 dollars) in 2009, down 1.2 percent from 2008.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, Brazil's GDP totaled 849.6 billion reais (480 billion dollars), up 2 percent from the third quarter. It was the third consecutive rise in the GDP figures, after two quarters of recession in late 2008 and early 2009.

For 2010, the Brazilian government predicts an expansion of 5.5 percent, the same figures projected earlier this week by world-renowned credit rating agency Fitch Ratings.

Brazil s GDP contracts 0.2 % in 2009

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