Latin America’s largest economy shrank less than all but two economists expected in the first quarter, indicating Brazil may be close to hitting bottom after a confidence crisis scuttled demand and plunged the nation into its worst recession in decades.
Brazil’s gross domestic product contracted 0.3 percent in the three months ended in March, after a revised 1.3 percent drop the previous quarter, the national statistics institute said Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. The figure was better than the median estimate for a 0.8 percent decline from 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
