Brasília – The Brazilian Central Bank reported this Monday (25th) that financial market analysts and investors have notched their forecast for Brazil’s Selic benchmark interest rate in 2015 up from 13.5% to 13.75%.
The Selic rate, which the Central Bank employs to control inflation, is currently at 13.25%, therefore the forecast implies a 0.5 percentage point increase by the end of the year. Since October 2014 until now, the Selic has climbed 2.25 percentage points.
The benchmark rate is part of the Focus Bulletin, a weekly poll of financial institutions conducted by the Central Bank. The analysts polled have also raised their inflation forecast measured by the Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA) for 2015, from 8.31% to 8.37%.
The analysts also expect a sharper declined in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), from -1.2% as of last week to -1.24%. Industrial production remains expected to contract 2.8%. By the end of the year, the US dollar is expected to be worth 3.20 Brazilian real.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
