The Gross Domestic Product Monitor (GDP, sum of all goods and services produced in the country), released today (17) by Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), showed a 1.5% increase in economic activity in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. From February to March this year, growth was 1.8%. In the annual comparison, the increase in GDP was 2.4% in the quarter and 4.2% in the month.
The research coordinator, Juliana Trece, believes that the increase is due to the positive performance of the services, which show a good recovery after the strong impact suffered during the worst moments of the covid-19 pandemic.
“Among the activities that make up the sector, only those of other services and administration, education and public health had not yet recovered, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the pre-pandemic level of covid-19. With the result of the first quarter of this year, the activity of other services has surpassed the pre-pandemic level”.
He warns that GDP performance has been boosted by the normalization of economic activity to what it was before the pandemic, but that this effect is wearing off and should impact the sustainability of growth.
According to FGV data, household consumption grew 3.4% in the first quarter, in the interannual comparison, driven by the consumption of services. The main influences for the positive performance were accommodation, food and domestic services. The consumption of durable goods fell by 6.7%, the only one with a drop.
Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) grew by 1.5% in the first quarter, compared to the same quarter of 2021. Since the fourth quarter of last year, the analysis of the quarterly moving rate shows a decline in the machinery and equipment component , ending the period with a retraction of 4.8%. The declines continue to be widespread among the segments of automobiles, machinery and electrical and mechanical equipment.
Foreign trade
Exports of goods and services rose 9.6% in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year, with emphasis on the export of services (14.7%), intermediate goods (14.3%) and agricultural products ( 29.5%).
Imports fell by 1.8% in the same analysis. Services and mineral extraction performed well, but the negative result was driven by the drop in imports of agricultural and industrialized products.
In terms of values, FGV estimates that the accumulated GDP in the first quarter of the year will total R$ 2.46 trillion. The investment rate in the first quarter was 18.4%, in the series at current values.
