Brazil's Economy Slides Further

For the fifth straight quarter, Brazil's economy has shrunk.

The good news is that the contraction of the economy in the first quarter was only 0.3%, lower than the 0.8% economists expected. Furthermore, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics found that the year-on-year decline was just 5.4% compared to an earlier findings of 6.1%.

Production fell in all the three main economic sectors; agriculture, industry and services. The fall in agriculture is particularly startling considering how much the nation's economy relies on it, especially through exports of commodities. Surprinsingly, exports actually increased in the first quarter by 6.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2015.

Read more from the BBC For Fifth Consecutive Quarter Brazilian Economy Falls

Brexit Could Speed Up Deal Between UK and Brazil

Everyone is talking about Brexit. 

The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union could be a good thing for Brazil, even though the Mercosul's negotiations with the EU is likely to suffer setbacks. Suffering an unprecedented economic crisis, a speed up in talks could be a sign of hope for the South American nation. The UK was behind a speed up in talks before leaving the EU last week.

Of particular interest to Brazil is the possibility of exporting agricultural products and beef to British consumers. Currently, Brazilian exports to the United Kingdom equal just 1.5% of total exports, however, the actual numbers are nothing to ignore. In 2015, Brazil exported more than US$2.9 billion worth of goods, while through May of this year they have exported more than US$1.1 billion. 

In contrast, Brazil imported just over US$2.8 billion in 2015 and just under US$1 billion so far in 2016, according to government data.

To read more visit Folha de Sao Paulo (in Portuguese) Brazil Looks to Negotiate with British Post Brexit