Brazil president predicts better shape of national economy next year

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva predicted Monday that the country's economy is set to be in a better shape next year thanks to gross domestic product rise in the second quarter and hopefully in the third and fourth as well.

During his weekly radio talk show "Breakfast with the President," Lula quoted Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics figures as saying that the country's growth in the second quarter rose 1.9 percent as against the previous three months.

The president said the rise means that Brazil is no longer in technical recession.

Though down 1.2 percent compared with the second quarter of 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed improvement as this year's first-quarter growth was 1.8 percent down from that of the same period last year, the president said.

Lula told his audience the figures indicated that their country's economy is improving and he predicted that the GDP figures would be even more positive in the third quarter to pave the way for more growth in the ensuing quarter.

He had spoken on several occasions that his country, the last to be affected by the ongoing global financial crisis, will be the first to get out of recession.

"These figures only confirm what we have said," he said.

The president said that combined with the country's solid economic foundation, solid foreign exchange reserve and strong domestic market, the anti-cyclic measures the government has taken and the incentives it has given to the industrial sector in particular would help roll back the negative impact of the crisis.