Household consumption grows again after nine quarters
September 01, 2017 09h00 AM | Last Updated: September 14, 2017 02h46 PM
With an increase of 1.4% in the comparison between the first and the second quarters of 2017, household consumption resumes growth. In the last quarter, the indicator had shown stability (0.0%), and, in this second quarter, recorded the first growth in nine quarters.
“Trade, from the perspective of supply, and household consumption, from the perspective of demand, were the main influences for the positive change of 0.2% in the GDP”, highlights Rebeca Palis, IBGE coordinator of National Accounts.
In the comparison with the second quarter of 2016, household consumption also grew again (0.7%), after nine quarters of decrease.
The growth of the expenditures in household consumption was influenced by the evolution of some macroeconomic indicators throughout the quarter, such as the deceleration of inflation, the reduction of the basic interest rate and the real growth of the wage bill.
However, Rebeca highlights that it is also necessary to take a look at other comparisons: “in the first semester household consumption was still decreasing, with -0.6%, a less sharper drop than the ones of the previous semesters”.
She emphasizes that, in the semester, the GDP had no change: “industries and services fell, but agriculture recorded a strong growth of 15.0%”.
Rebeca also claims that in the comparison with the first semester, services are already showing a rise (0.6%), whereas industry is still decreasing (-0.5). Agriculture, in turn, remains stable: “agriculture had grown 11.5% in the last quarter, so, the null change is a result of the base effect.”
Text: Irene Gomes
Art: Helga Szpiz
Image: Pedro Girão
