BRAZIL, Latin America’s biggest economy, grew 0.9% in the second quarter, officials said today, a result that beat expectations but marked a slowdown from the first quarter.

Analysts polled by business daily Valor had forecast growth of just 0.3% for the April-June period, with the latest better-than-expected result giving a new boost to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the veteran leftist tries to breathe new life into the economy.

However, it marked a notable slowdown from the first quarter, when the economy grew 1.8% – revised down today from an initially reported figure of 1.9%.

The powerful agribusiness sector once again drove growth, with a year-on-year expansion of 17%.

That was far higher than the services sector, at 2.3%, or the industrial sector, at 1.5%.

Lula, who previously led Brazil through an economic boom in the 2000s, returned to office for a new term in January after beating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a divisive election last year.

He is pushing hard to ignite the economy, and has regularly criticised the central bank for keeping interest rates high, which he says is slowing economic growth.

The central bank cut its key interest rate by a larger-than-expected half-point last month, citing easing inflation, and said it anticipated further cuts to come. – September 1, 2023.