BRASIL: Lula States 4Q Growth Is "At Chinese Pace."

BLOOMBERG/
Lula writes in his weekly newspaper column that growth may have quickened to an annualized rate of about 9 percent in the July to September period.
Brasil’s GDP contracted 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the same quarter in 2008, while China’s economy expanded 8.9 percent in the third quarter. Growth in China has averaged 9.2 percent this decade, compared with a 3.6 percent annual average rate in Brasil.
While Brasil’s recovery may gain momentum in the coming months, “it’s a far cry from Chinese growth rates,” said Douglas Smith, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank. Smith is forecasting 3.8 percent expansion next year and said if Chinese-like growth rates ever arose in Brasil it would provoke a return of inflation.