Brazil's economy fell 0.68 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the final quarter of 2018, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the country’s central bank.
The Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br), which acts as a preview of the official gross domestic product (GDP), indicated that the largest economy in Latin America shrank by 0.28 per cent in March from a month ago, while the accumulated 12-month period saw a growth of 1.05 per cent.
The report also said that the country’s economy grew by 0.23 per cent year-on-year (y/y) during the Q1, reports Xinhua.
The IBC-Br acts as a preview to the statistical results from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) which will be released on May 30.
If IBGE confirms the decline released by the central bank, it will be the first negative result since the fourth quarter of 2016, when Brazil's economy declined 0.6 per cent.
Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Tuesday the government revised down its GDP growth projection for 2019 to 1.5 per cent.