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| Brazil's economy enters recession | Brazil's economy enters recession |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Brazil has entered recession after official figures showed the country's economy contracted by 1.9% between April and June, compared with the previous three months. | Brazil has entered recession after official figures showed the country's economy contracted by 1.9% between April and June, compared with the previous three months. |
| Compared with a year earlier, the economy shrank by 2.6%, the government's statistical agency said. | Compared with a year earlier, the economy shrank by 2.6%, the government's statistical agency said. |
| Analysts had expected a contraction, but the number was worse than expected. | Analysts had expected a contraction, but the number was worse than expected. |
| The country, the seventh largest economy in the world, has seen economic growth fall sharply in recent years. | The country, the seventh largest economy in the world, has seen economic growth fall sharply in recent years. |
| This is due in part to low commodity prices and sluggish global growth. | |
| Higher interest rates - currently 14.25% - have also affected consumer spending, an important element of Brazil's economy, while this year, the government has introduced stringent austerity measures designed to tackle high levels of debt. | |
| Government spending, including on unemployment benefits, has fallen sharply, while taxes have risen. | |
| In the second quarter, household spending fell by 2.1% compared with the previous three months. The biggest falls came in the industrial sector, where construction output fell 8.4% | |
| Transport, storage, postal services, financial services and insurance all saw falls in output. | |
| The technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. |