UPDATE 1-Brazil exits recession with 0.5% GDP growth in fourth quarter

[admin]

Brazil's economy returned to growth in the fourth quarter, exiting a mild recession, data showed on Friday, although the timid pace of recovery underscored challenges for economic activity this year. The 0.5% increase from the previous quarter reported by official statistics agency IBGE was higher than the 0.1% growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. The 1.6% expansion over the fourth quarter of 2020 was also larger than the 1.1% rise projected in the survey.