Brasília – Financial institutions polled by the Brazilian Central Bank (BC) revised down their forecast for the expansion of the economy and for the inflation rate this year. The data is part of the Focus Bulletin, published weekly by the BC, with forecasts by financial institutions for the main economic indicators.
The forecast for the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) went from 4.17% to 4.16% for this year. For 2019, it went from 4.12% to 4.11%. For 2020 and 2021, the forecast remained at 4% and 3.92%, respectively.
The forecast for the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised down from 1.47% to 1.44% for this year. For 2019, 2020 and 2021 the forecast for GDP growth remained at 2.5%.
For the banks, the SELIC, the benchmark interest rates, should remain at 6.5% per year until the end of this year. For 2019, the forecast is for it to go up to 8% per year and remaining at 8% in 2020 and 2021.
The financial market’s forecast for the dollar went from BRL 3.75 to BRL 3.80 at the end of this year and remains at BRL 3.70 for the end of 2019. For 2020, banks believe the North American currency will be at BRL 3.67, going up to BRL 3.75 at the end of 2021.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
