Fourth quarter growth in consumption and investments supported growth, says Finance Minister Mantega

BRASILIA, Brazil, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federative Republic of Brazil announced today that its economy saw only a moderate decline amid the global recession in 2009, with a 0.2 percent decrease in annual real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services adjusted for inflation -- to R$ 3.14 trillion (at current values), equivalent to US$ 1.58 trillion. In the fourth quarter of 2009, real GDP rose 2 percent (seasonally adjusted) over the third quarter of 2009, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

"Both our fourth quarter and full year GDP performance show that Brazil, despite the difficult economic environment throughout 2009, successfully recovered from the global financial crisis. Through our sound macroeconomic steering, we feel we have demonstrated our resilience and weathered the storm better than most," said Finance Minister Guido Mantega. "We are already seeing strong indications of economic growth for the year ahead and expect at least 5 percent growth in 2010."

2009 Annual Performance Supported by Services Sector

Brazil's 0.2 percent decrease in annual GDP in 2009 was primarily a result of the performance of the services sector, which grew 2.6 percent, offsetting the performance of the agriculture and industry sectors, which declined 5.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. The economy was also supported by stable domestic demand, with household consumption growing 4.1 percent and a 3.7 percent increase in public administration consumption.

Q4 2009 Performance Buoyed by Investment and Domestic Consumption

The expansion in real GDP for the fourth quarter of 2009 in the seasonally adjusted series represents a 2 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2009. Highlights of Q4 performance included 4.0 percent growth in the industrial sector, 0.6 percent growth in the services sector, and a stable 0.0 percent change in agricultural output. Regarding domestic demand, gross fixed capital formation recorded a growth of 6.6 percent, household consumption grew 1.9 percent and public administration consumption increased by 0.6 percent. These outcomes point to the recovery of private investments and increased consumption.

To access more information in English and the full press release in Portuguese, please visit IBGE's website: http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/presidencia/noticias/noticia_visualiza.php?id_n oticia=1571&id_pagina=1 (due to length of URL, please copy and paste into browser).

     SUMMARY TABLE - Brazil GDP at market prices from Q4 2008 to Q4 2009

    Rates (%)              Q4 2008    Q1 2009    Q2 2009    Q3 2009    Q4 2009
    Accumulated in the
     year/same period
     as in the
     previous year            5.1    (-) 2.1    (-) 1.9    (-) 1.7    (-) 0.2

    Last four quarters/
     four immediately
     previous quarters        5.1        3.0        1.0    (-) 1.0    (-) 0.2

    Quarter/same
     quarter as in
     the previous
     year                     0.8    (-) 2.1    (-) 1.6    (-) 1.2        4.3

    Quarter/immediately
     previous quarter
    (seasonally adjusted) (-) 3.5    (-) 0.9        1.4        1.7        2.0

    Source: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)

About IBGE: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is the independent and autonomous agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil.

About SECOM: The Secretariat for Social Communication (SECOM) of the Presidency of Brazil is responsible for coordinating the public relations activities for the government of Brazil. For more information on the Federative Republic of Brazil, please visit www.brasil.gov.br

SOURCE SECOM

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