Brazil to leave recession behind in 2017: IMF

Brazil will leave the recession behind, with the economy growing by 0.2 percent in 2017 and 1.7 percent in 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated on Wednesday.

The IMF said in its Global Economic Perspectives report that situation in Brazil is improving due to less economic uncertainties, as well as easing monetary policy and advances in reform programs.

Though the ongoing investigations on corruption in Brazil lead to political uncertainty, the government has reaffirmed its intention to carry out reforms, which can result in a better fiscal situation, said IMF representative Oya Celsun.

The estimates for 2018 have been improved since the past report, when the IMF believed that Brazil's economy would grow 1.5 percent next year.

The IMF expects Brazil to recover gradually and sustain moderate growth, but warns that those results will depend on the implementation of the reform measures.

"Brazil's macroeconomic prospects hinge on the implementation of ambitious structural economic and fiscal reforms," the IMF report said.

The Fund expressed their surprise at Brazil's current low inflation rate and estimated an inflation of 4.4 percent for 2017 and 4.3 percent for 2018. The inflation target set for both 2017 and 2018 is 4.5 percent with a two-point gap, which means the rate cannot exceed 6.5 percent. Enditem