Brazil's GDP Grows 9% in Q1 2010, 2nd Only to China

Brazilian GDP numbers have just been released, showing a growth of 9.0% compared with same period last year, easily beating consensus estimates for growth of 7.6%.

The 9% rate was the highest rate of growth in more than 15 years.

In a list of 17 countries, Brazil's GDP in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter of 2009 exceeded the rate of growth (or decline in the economy) for the same period of comparison:

• Canada (1.5%)
• Sweden ( 1.4%)
• Japan (1.2%)
• Portugal (1.0%)
• United States (0.8%)
• Italy (0.5%)
• Switzerland (0.4%)
• UK ( 0.3%)
• Germany (0.2%)
• EU (0.2%)
• Spain (0.1%)
• France (0.1%)
• Mexico (-0.4%)
• Greece (-0.8%)
• Chile (-1.5%).

Brazil's IBGE has gone further and performed another survey, this time comparing the growth of the Brazilian economy in the first quarter of this year with the same quarter last year, only among the countries of BRIC. The period of comparison in this survey, used by the IBGE, was different, since China and India do not disclose data that eliminate the seasonal effects in the calculation of their rates of GDP.

In the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year:

• China grew 11.9%, and ranks first among the BRICs nations
• followed by Brazil, up 9.0% in GDP
• Third place is occupied by India with 8.0% increase in GDP
• followed by Russia, up 4.5% in GDP in the first three months of this year,

However, the rate of GDP growth in Brazil was aided by the use of a low comparison base, reflecting the early months of 2009, when Brazil's economy acutely felt the effects of global crisis. The survey did not include African countries, for example, whose GDP ranges from a very sharp over the quarters.