Brazil Says Their Recession Is Over

Brazil has come out of recession after its economy grew in the April-to-June quarter, BBC News reports. The largest economy in Latin America expanded by 1.9% in the second quarter from the previous three months.

Data also showed Sweden recently emerged from its recession, a sign that economies are starting to recover from the global economic downturn. Other countries that have come out of a recession include euro zone’s largest economies, Germany and France. Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, also grew by 0.6% in the second quarter, less than the 0.9% growth the government initially estimated.

The return to growth means that Brazil’s recession was comparatively short, amounting to just two quarters of negative growth. The economy shrank by 1% in the first three months of 2009, a revision from the previously-announced 0.8%, said statistics agency IBGE. In the last quarter of 2008, Brazil saw a contraction of 3.4%, a revision from an earlier figure of 3.8%.