Optimism in Brazil’s economic performance in the second half of this year has increased, a new survey has found.

The Brazilian news agency Agência Brasil says the percentage of businesspeople that consider the economic crisis “very serious” fell from 60.2 percent in April to 39.5 percent last month, according to a survey by the Credit Protection Service and National Confederation of Retail Managers.

Some 47.9 percent of businesspeople surveyed say the Brazilian economy will perform better in the second half of this year, and the percentage of survey respondents who believe the second half will be worse has fallen from 39.5 percent to 6.8 percent.

Brazil’s economy shrank by 3.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, says the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. In the first quarter of this year, the Brazilian economy shrank by 5.4 percent in year-on-year terms.