SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's economy expanded 5.4 percent in the second quarter, boosted by big gains in the industrial and service sectors, and it appeared on track to grow nearly 5 percent overall this year, according to government figures released Wednesday.Still, gross domestic product growth for Latin America's largest economy in the April to June period fell short of the 5.9 percent pace predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
The industrial sector drove the second-quarter expansion, surging 6.8 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The service sector expanded 4.8 percent, while the nation's important agriculture sector posted a 0.2 percent increase.
Economists surveyed by Brazil's Central Bank are predicting that GDP -- which measures the value of all goods and services produced in South America's largest economy -- will rise 4.7 percent overall for 2007.
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