Brazil, long regarded as the laggard of the Bric economies, appears finally to be catching up. Year-on-year growth in the second quarter was 5.4 per cent – still some way behind Russia, India or China, but more than double the average rate of annual economic growth in Brazil over the past two decades.

The question is whether growth this time is sustainable or, as has happened so often in Brazil, a brief peak in activity will be followed by collapse into yet another trough. Sadly, although today’s peaks and troughs may be less accentuated than in the past, the outlook is not good.