Brazil's GDP to grow 8% in 2010: finance minister
2010-12-10 16:26:38
Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Thursday that the country's GDP will increase 8 percent this year.
He made the prediction in his comment on the third quarter GDP figures, which was released earlier Thursday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
According to IBGE, Brazil's gross domestic product reached 937.2 billion reais (552.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter of 2010, expanding 6.7 percent from the same period last year and up 0.5 percent from the second quarter.
The third quarter expansion can be mainly attributed to the industrial sector, which increased 8.3 percent from the third quarter of 2009. During the same period, the agricultural sector was up 7 percent, and the tertiary sector up 4.9 percent.
Brazil's GDP growth is the second highest in the world, only after China. We have surpassed India, who usually ranks the second, said the finance minister.
In the first three quarters of 2010, Brazil's GDP accumulated an expansion of 8.4 percent from last year due to all sectors' expansion. During this period, the agricultural sector increased 7.8 percent from 2009, while the industrial sector expanded 12.3 percent, and the tertiary sector was up 5.7 percent.
In the first nine months of the year, Brazilian families' consumption was up 6.9 percent, while it reached 566.1 billion reais (333.7 billion dollars) in the third quarter, up 1.6 percent from the second quarter and 5.9 percent year on year.
The government's expenditures were up 4.1 percent in the first nine months of the year, while it reached 184.6 billion reais (108.8 billion dollars) in the third quarter, roughly the same as the second quarter and up 4.1 percent from 2009.
Exports grew 10.8 percent in the first nine months of 2010, while imports grew 39.8 percent.
The investments in Brazil increased 25.6 percent in the first nine months of 2010, while it aggregated 182.1 billion reais (107.3 billion dollars) in the third quarter, up 3.9 percent from second quarter and 21.2 percent year on year.
Minister Mantega expects the Brazilian economy to grow 5 percent in 2011. He also believes that the inflation rate will keep on target in the upcoming year.
Brazilian Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles also commented on the GDP figures. According to Meirelles, the Brazilian economy is adjusting to a pace more compatible with long-term growth.
Meirelles added that investments in Brazil would keep increasing, which indicates that good economic situation will continue in the next quarters.