In the first half of the year, exports of agricultural products increased by 4.5 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
On Monday, the Brazilian Central Bank said that the financial market raised the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast from 2.19 percent to 2.24 percent in 2023, and from 1.28 to 1.3 percent in 2024.
According to the bank’s weekly survey of analysts at the country’s leading financial institutions, at the start of this year, Brazil’s expected GDP growth for the year was a scant 0.8 percent.
Analysts maintained their inflation estimate at 4.95 percent for this year and at 3.92 percent for the next year. Brazil’s target inflation for 2023 is 3.25 percent, and for 2024, 3 percent.
Analysts also maintained their forecast for the benchmark interest rate at 12 percent for 2023 and at 9.5 percent for 2024. The rate is currently at 13.75 percent annually.
Regarding the currency exchange market, analysts expected the Brazilian real, which now trades at 4.83 to the U.S. dollar, to trade at 5 to the dollar by the end of 2023 and at 5.05 to the dollar by the end of 2024.
The trade balance (exports versus imports) is expected to see a surplus of US$65 billion this year and US$60 billion the following year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Brazilian economy is expected to reach US$80 billion dollars in both 2023 and 2024.
The growth of the economy will be driven by its dynamism in food production. In the first half of the year, this South American country exported agricultural products for US$82.8 billion, a figure that represented an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2022.
Source : TeleSUR