LatinNews Daily - 4 September 2024

*Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released its figures for the country’s GDP growth in the second quarter, showing a quarterly growth rate of 1.4% and year-on-year growth of 3.3%. The quarterly growth was mainly driven by the industrial and services sector, which posted GDP growth rates of 1.8% and 1.0% respectively. Compared to Q2 2023 the industrial sector’s GDP grew by 3.9% and services grew by 3.5%. Activities in the industrial and services sectors that saw notable quarterly growth include electricity and gas, water, sewage, and waste management (+4.2%), construction (+3.5%), financial activities, insurance, and related services (+2.0%), and information and communications (+1.7%). The agricultural sector, the main driver of Brazil’s annual GDP growth last year, registered a contraction of 2.3% in quarterly terms and 2.9% in yearly terms, largely due to adverse weather conditions.