FGV monitor shows a 0.6% increase in GDP in February; services pull economy

The Gross Domestic Product of Brazil increased by 0.6% in February this year, compared to the previous month, according to the GDP Monitor, from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV).

According to the Foundation, the Brazilian economy was mainly driven by the resumption of the service sector, the most affected by the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

FGV’s data on the country’s economic growth already take into account the seasonal highs of the economy, caused, for example, by the end of the year, holidays and Carnival.

In absolute numbers, the accumulated GDP in the first two months of 2022, in current values, was R$ 1.3 trillion.

Economist Claudio Considera, coordinator of the Coordinator of the National Accounts Nucleus of the FGV research, explains that the main establishments in the service sector depend on the interaction between people, which was impossible because of the pandemic.

But with the advancement of vaccination, the sector has been the highlight in the economic recovery.

“Services are growing a lot compared to last year, people didn’t feel safe. Hospitality, plane travel, all this was massacred. Trade has not yet reacted, due to high prices and interest rates”, points out the economist.

According to the FGV, trade in non-durable goods, such as food and fuel, was the only category that showed an increase, with growth of 2.5% in February, compared to the same month last year.

Durable goods, such as automobiles and household appliances, fell sharply by -8.6%. Economist Claudio Considera points out that this decline is due to high inflation, which forces interest rates to rise and causes families to lose purchasing power.

Exports, driven by the agricultural industry, increased by 12.5% ​​in the moving quarter ended in February, which comprises the months of December, January and February, compared to the same period last year.

Imports fell by 2.1% in this mobile quarter, compared to the same quarter in 2021. According to FGV, capital goods (20.1%), such as machinery, and intermediate goods (5.7% ). In addition to them, imports of agricultural products also dropped -17.8%.