Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday that economic growth will surprise this year on the back of strong investments, reaching around 2% despite aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation.
"Central bank interest rising gives a strong cyclical deceleration vector. So instead of growing 3%, 3.5%, you will grow around 2%," said the minister at an online event hosted by Bradesco BBI.
He pointed out that growth forecasts at the Economy Ministry range from 1.5% to 2.5%, contrasting with a 0.5% expansion seen by economists in a weekly survey conducted by the central bank.
Officially, the Economy Ministry lowered its growth projection to 1.5% this year from a previous outlook of 2.1%.