Brazil Growth Slows

Despite stronger last quarter growth of 1.4% year on year, Brazil’s economic expansion slowed last year to 2.3%, half that of 2004 when it grew by 4.9%. This followed year on year growth of only 1% in the third quarter. Brazil’s GDP expanded by 0.8% between October and December last year, driven by growth of 1.4% in industry. Agriculture rose by 0.8% and services by 0.7%. Overall, in 2005, industry grew 2.5%, services 2% and agriculture 0.8%, the sector’s worst performance in almost 10 years. Brazil’s economic growth lags behind other countries in the region, such as Argentina (9.1%), Peru (6.7%), Chile (6.3%), and Venezuela (5%).