Brazil's GDP posts second consecutive contraction

The Brazilian government said gross domestic product contracted for the second consecutive quarter, sending the economy of Latin America's biggest country into a technical recession, AP reported.

The government statistics bureau IBGE said Friday that Brazil's economy shrank 1.9 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous three months.

Gross domestic product in the first quarter contracted by 0.7 percent.

Brazil's economy has been hit by a drop in international commodity prices, sluggish global economic growth, rising inflation and high interest rates.

The IBGE said the biggest drop took place in the industrial sector, where construction output fell 8.4 percent. Government and private investments to increase output dropped 8.1 percent.

In the second quarter, household spending fell by 2.1% compared with the previous three months.