The Associated Press
Published: September 11, 2008
Booming agribusiness and industry helped Brazil's economy grow by 6.1 percent in the second quarter of 2008, the government said Wednesday, exceeding analysts' expectations. Just hours later, the Central Bank hiked Brazil's benchmark interest rate.
The increase in gross domestic product, announced by Brazil's statistics bureau, surpassed the 5.2 percent growth rate forecast by analysts cited by G1, the Web site of Brazil's Globo TV.
The gains put Brazil on track to grow 5 percent to 5.5 percent in 2008, Finance Minster Guido Mantega said, following 5.4 percent growth last year.
The result was likely partly responsible for central bankers' decision to boost Brazil's Selic interest rate 0.75 percentage points to 13.75 percent Wednesday night in a bid to control 6.3 percent annual inflation in Latin America's largest economy.
As growth in the United States and Europe slowed in the second quarter, Brazil's robust agribusiness sector expanded 7.1 percent over the year-ago period, even though big gains by the nation's currency against the U.S. dollar made Brazilian exports more expensive abroad. Brazil is the world's top exporter of sugar, beef, chicken and orange juice, and second only to the United States for soy.