The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth projection for Brazil for 2018 and 2019. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 1.9% this year, 0.4 percentage points above the estimate made in October. For 2019, the forecast has been revised to 2.1%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points.
Released on January 22, the World Economic Outlook report highlights that global economic activity recorded a projected growth of 3.7% in 2017, 0.1 percentage points above the projection made in October 2017, when the last version of the document was released. The IMF also forecasts global growth of 3.9% for 2018 and 2019, which represents an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the previous report’s projection.
According to the report, the improvement reflects, among other factors, “the expected impact of the recently approved changes in the tax policy of the United States.” The document also emphasizes that the economic recovery in Latin America is expected to strengthen, with growth of 1.9% in 2018 (as previously projected in October) and 2.6% in 2019 (0.2 percentage points above the October forecast).
“This change primarily reflects an improved outlook for Mexico, which benefits from stronger demand from the United States, a firmer recovery in Brazil, and the favorable effects of stronger commodity prices and easier financing conditions in some exporting countries of these products,” the document states.
Source: Agência Brasil