BRASILIA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's economy contracted 0.99 percent in the second quarter of this year, Brazil's Central Bank said on Wednesday, citing the Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br).

The bank blamed the drop primarily on a prolonged truckers' strike that paralyzed the country's economy for 11 days in May.

As a result, the financial market downgraded its economic growth forecast to 1.49 percent for 2018.

The second-quarter contraction was the biggest since the first quarter of 2016, when the index registered a drop of 1.51 percent.

The decrease followed a 0.2 percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) during the first three months of the year.

Bank data shows that in June, the IBC-Br grew 3.29 percent compared to the previous month, indicating a rapid correction following the decline in May.

It was a sharp increase compared to the same month the year before, which registered 1.82 percent growth.

The economy grew 0.89 percent in the first half of this year, and 1.3 percent in the 12 months ending in June.

Last year, Brazil's GDP expanded by 1 percent, marking the end of a two-year recession.