BRASILIA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian financial market cut its inflation forecast for 2022 from 5.79 percent to 5.76 percent and raised it for next year from 5.08 percent to 5.17 percent, the Central Bank of Brazil said Monday.
The country's official inflation target is set at 3.5 percent this year and 3.25 percent next year, with a margin of tolerance of 1.5 percentage points in both cases.
According to the bank's weekly survey of the country's top financial institutions, the market also expects the benchmark interest rate, currently at 13.75 percent annually, to gradually decrease in 2023 to close at 11.75 percent.
Regarding gross domestic product (GDP), economists maintained the growth forecast at 3.05 percent in 2022 and raised it from 0.75 percent to 0.79 percent in 2023.
In terms of the exchange rate, currently at 5.31 reals per U.S. dollar, the market's estimate was 5.25 reals per U.S. dollar at the end of 2022 and 5.26 reals per U.S. dollar at the end of next year.
Experts also estimated a trade balance surplus of 55 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 and 59.1 billion dollars in 2023.
Brazil's foreign direct investment forecast was set at 80 billion dollars in 2022 and 77 billion dollars in 2023, according to analysts. ■
