Brazilian gov't upgrades 2022 GDP growth forecast to 2.7 pct

BRASILIA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's government upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2022 from 2 percent to 2.7 percent, the Economy Ministry's Economic Policy Secretariat said Thursday.

The agency's latest newsletter notes that the government forecast is higher than the estimated growth in gross domestic product (GDP) projected by Brazil's financial market.

The Central Bank of Brazil's weekly survey of economists at the country's main financial institutions showed they expect GDP to expand by 2.39 percent in 2022.

According to Rogerio Boueri, the head of the Economy Ministry's Economic Studies Advisory, the upgrade in expectations derives from the strength of the labor market, the performance of the services sector and investments.

"The growth in activity is expected to continue throughout this second half of the year. The first data for July suggest that industry, services and the labor market continue to grow," said Boueri.

For 2023, the Economy Ministry maintained its economic growth forecast at 2.5 percent, significantly higher than the 0.5 percent estimated by the financial market.

The government cut its inflation forecast for the end of this year from 7.2 percent to 6.3 percent.