Brazil Growth Slowed in First Quarter as Investment Fell

Brazil’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter as President Dilma Rousseff, who is up for re-election in October, struggles to rebuild confidence that led to the biggest decline in investment in two years.

Gross domestic product increased 0.2 percent in the first quarter, the equivalent to 0.8 percent on an annual basis, down from a revised 0.4 percent in the last three months of 2013. The result was in line with the median estimate of 41 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Investment fell 2.1 percent in the quarter.