Brazil’s economy grew a stronger-than-expected 1.9 percent in the first quarter, according to official figures released Thursday, welcome news for leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he looks to jump-start growth.
The expansion, led by strong growth of 21.6 percent in the key agricultural sector, marked a rebound for Latin America’s biggest economy, which contracted by a revised 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 — the last under far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
The result was better than expected, beating an average forecast of 1.3 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by analysts polled by business daily Valor.—AFP
