Gov’t estimates 4.7% plunge in economy this year

The Economy Ministry estimates a 4.7 percent decline in Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, when the coronavirus crisis  had just begun, the prediction was a stable 0.02 percent, considerable lower than January’s 2.4 percent. The figures were released in Brasília today (May 13).

“The contraction in the GDP this year will be the sharpest in history. However, it can’t be denied that the effect of this disease assails most countries. According to the projection of economic analysts, the reduction in activities will be among the most significant for many developed and emerging countries in the post-war period. Thus, the interruption in activities, the deterioration of employment, and the aggravation of the international landscape brought about a slash in the projections for the Brazilian growth in 2020 to -4.7 percent, compared to a previous 0 percent—the amount seen in the Parameters Chart for March 2020,” the ministry stated.

In 2021, the GDP is likely to grow 3.2 percent, down from a previous 3.3 percent. In 2022, the forecast is a 2.6 percent expansion, and, for 2023 and 2024, 2.5 percent in each year.

Inflation

The projection for the National Broad Consumer Price Index—the IPCA, which gauges the country’s official inflation—is 1.77 percent this year and 3.3 percent in 2021.