Brazil GDP contracts 1.5pc in Q1 due to pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 29 — Brazil’s economy — Latin America’s largest — contracted by 1.5 per cent in the first quarter due to the shutdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the government reported today.

But the contraction reflects only the early effects of the pandemic because lockdown measures that stalled the economy in the South American giant began only in mid-March.

The 1.5 pc drop was in comparison to the last quarter of 2019, said the national statistics institute IBGE. — AFP