Brazil Growth Contracts 1% in Q2

Brazil's economy contracted nearly 1% in the second quarter due to a truckers strike, the country's central bank said late Wednesday. The nine-day strike that ended in late May caused fuel shortages, cut into food deliveries and backed up exports. The Central Bank said Latin America's biggest economy shrank 0.99%. According to the bank, Brazil's Economic Activity Index rose 3.29% in June from the previous month, which saw a 3.28% drop. But it was not enough to close the quarter on a positive note, AP reported. The Economic Activity Index is a preview of the gross domestic product. GDP figures for the second quarter are expected to be released at the end of the month. Andre Perfeito, chief economist at Spinelli CVMC, a Sao Paulo-based investment firm, said the data released by the central bank was "very bad". "It points to a second quarter GDP drop of 0.2% and to a 2018 GDP growth of just 1.1%," he said. The economy grew 0.89% in the first half of this year, and 1.3% in the 12 months ending in June. Last year, Brazil's GDP expanded by 1%, marking the end of a two-year recession.