RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's economy, the largest in Latin America, rebounded in the second quarter, averting fears of a recession in the country, according to figures released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Thursday.
Brazil's economy grew 0.4 percent from the previous quarter and 1 percent from a year ago, said a report by the statistics agency.
In the first quarter, the economy contracted by 0.1 percent, according to revised IBGE figures.
The results prevented Brazil from falling into recession, which occurs when the gross domestic product (GDP) growth is negative for two consecutive quarters, in conjunction with monthly indicators like employment.
Figures showed that in the second quarter, Brazil's agricultural sector registered a contraction of 0.4 percent, while the industry and services sectors compensated the fall, expanding 0.7 and 0.3 percent respectively compared to the first quarter.
Investments rose 3.2 percent from the first quarter and 5.2 percent from a year ago. Households' consumption was up 0.3 percent from the previous quarter and 1.6 percent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, governmental expenses fell 1 percent from the first quarter and 0.7 percent from a year ago.
The country's exports were down 1.6 percent from the first quarter, while imports were up 1 percent. Compared with the second quarter of 2018, exports grew 1.8 percent and imports increased 4.7 percent.
The Brazilian economy still suffers the effects of the economic crisis from 2015 to 2016, when the GDP had fallen for two consecutive years.
The financial markets forecast a 0.8 percent GDP growth for the Brazilian economy this year, while the government estimates a 0.81-percent growth.