Brazil’s Minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, traced a favorable picture of the Brazilian economy, affirming that successive decisions by the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates in the United States every time the group meets has no effect on Brazil.
"We have a robust trade surplus and, thus, low vulnerability; the country risk premium is declining, despite the fact that a new minister of Finance has just assumed command; and long-term interest rates, which might indicate some change in the international market, continue to fall," Mantega argued.
The minister spoke after the ceremony to instate the new president of the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), Demian Fiocca.
According to the Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, "Brazil is serene since it is a solid country that offers exceptional conditions to entrepreneurs, both Brazilian and foreign, who want to come and contribute to the growth and creation of companies and, in so doing, reap their results."
The minister affirmed that the target for this year’s primary surplus – what the government saves to pay interest on the debt – will be met. He even declared himself "cosigner" of this goal.
The growth of the industrial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first two months of the year, in Mantega’s view, indicates that "the Brazilian economy is vigorous, with robust growth, based on the combination of the domestic market and the foreign market, which remains good for Brazilian products."
According to the minister of Finance, industry is growing, inflation and interest rates are declining, and credit has expanded for whoever intends to invest.
Agência Brasil
