Brasília – Foreigner confidence in Brazil’s inflation control has increased, according to the sixth edition of the Monitor of International Perception of Brazil, issued this Tuesday (27th) by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea). The foreigner confidence indicator has gone back to positive, at 23 points, after having spent a large portion of 2011 below zero. However, the international entities surveyed (embassies, chambers of commerce, foreign-controlled enterprises and international organizations) are still expecting an above-target inflation rate, at around 5.5%, in the next 12 months.
The latest editions of the survey have shown a gradual slowing down of expectations regarding the evolution of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP growth index, which reached 59 points in the first two editions – dating from 2010 –, is dropping and has reached its lowest level, at 14 points. The most frequent answer, given by 62% of respondents, reveals expectation of growth ranging from 1.6% to 3.5% in the coming 12 months. Rates of growth higher than those were suggested by only one third of respondents.
The indicator for population access to consumer goods increased 35 points, from -8 points in August to 27 points in March 2012.
The survey “suggests that the worst may have passed in terms of economic growth. This evaluation is backed by expectations of improved overall credit conditions, whose indicator went from neutral to +14 points, indicating the continuation of the Brazilian Central Bank’s loosening of credit and interest rate policies,” according to the Ipea researchers.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
