Silvio Cascione – Reuters, 8/3/2012
SAO PAULO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Brazil’s services sector shrank in July at the fastest pace in over three years, according to a private survey released on Friday, raising doubts on whether the world’s sixth-largest economy will rebound as expected over the next months.
Once-booming Brazil has been flirting with recession for nearly a year despite record-low interest rates, as high factory costs and weak global demand hurt its factories.
Brazil, the largest Latin American economy, has managed to post weak growth thanks to its services sector, but that support – which helped keep job growth and consumer confidence around all-time highs – is fading quickly, the survey showed.
