Brazil will see moderate economic growth in first quarter, says finance minister

Brazil’s economy is expected to grow moderately in the first quarter of this year according to the country’s finance minister Henrique Meirelles, Xinhua reports.

“The GDP [gross domestic product] will grow moderately in the first quarter and stay on a growth trajectory during the year,” the Chinese government-run news agency quotes Mr Meirelles as saying. By the final quarter, Mr Meirelles expects GDP could reach 2 percent.

In the first nine months of last year, the economy contracted 4.0 percent. An International Monetary Fund forecast expects the full-year figure will see a contraction of 3.5 percent. The fund says the economy will grow by 0.2 percent this year.