RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s economic activity rose 0.58 percent in the third quarter, marking three straight quarters of growth following the severe recession that affected the South American country in 2015 and 2016, the Central Bank said Monday.

Economic activity expanded 1.1 percent in the first quarter and 0.39 percent in the second quarter.

The figures come from the Central Bank’s Index of Economic Activity (IBC-Br), which is used as a preview of the gross domestic product (GDP) number released quarterly.

Private sector economists expect the Brazilian economy to finish 2017 with modest growth.

Brazil’s economy is slowly recovering after contracting 3.8 percent in 2015, the worst performance in 25 years, and 3.6 percent last year, marking the first time since 1931 that GDP fell for two consecutive years.