In more poor news for the world’s economy, Brazil appears to be the latest country experiencing the onset of a weakening financial state, according to Reuters in a recent report.
The reason? A slow down of economic activity: “Economic activity in Brazil fell in December, a central bank indicator showed on Friday, in a steeper-than-forecast decline that ties in with other data suggesting Latin America’s largest economy lost steam at the end of last year,” as noted by the news publication.
According to the country’s central bank, which cites an economic activity index, Brazil saw its gross domestic product decrease by 0.27% in November. Notably, this was “compared with the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists of a 0.23% decline,” according to the article.
In a note, Alberto Ramos, head of Latin American research at Goldman Sachs, said that Brazil would see a slew of positive economic activity marked “by low inflation, employment growth, credit growth, low interest rates, and recovering consumer and business confidence,” according to Reuters. “But still significant slack in the labor market and subdued consumer confidence may cap the buoyancy of recovery,” he said in an interview with the news publication.
The news comes as the country’s president Jair Bolsonaro has seen a rise in popularity in recent months, as noted by Reuters. “Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval rating has surged, thanks to an improving economy and his government’s efforts to fight corruption and make Brazil’s cities safer, as cited in a poll released on Wednesday,” according to the publication.
Why? Brazilians are concerned about the country’s continued economic opportunities over other issues swirling around Bolsonaro’s presidency. “Bolsonaro’s personal approval rating jumped to 47.8% from 41% in August, while those who disapprove of the way he is governing Brazil dropped to 47% from 53.7% in August,” according to Reuters.
His government is performing well in a number of areas, too, which is giving a boost to the country’s economy and his popularity. “The areas in which his government is considered to have performed well include fighting corruption, boosting the economy and public security, while it is seen as falling short on health, education and the environment, according to the survey,” the news publication observes.