The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for the growth of Latin American economies, unlike its forecasts for global performance, due to a greater than expected strength of the great engines of the region, Brazil and Mexico.
For Brazil, the estimate is 1.7%, that is, an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to the April forecasts.
In a partial update to its World Economic Outlook report, the Washington-based Fund said it now expects Latin American economies as a whole to grow 3%, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from its April estimate.
However, the outlook is complicated next year, due to what is expected to be a strong slowdown in the United States and China, and the effects of tougher local monetary conditions to face inflation.
For 2023, the IMF cut the region’s GDP growth outlook by 0.5 percentage points to 2%.
“While the revisions are mostly negative for advanced economies, diverging exposures to unfolding events imply a more disparate outlook for emerging markets and developing economies,” the IMF said.
In the case of Brazil, the agency raised its projection by 0.9 percentage points and now estimates a GDP expansion of 1.7% for this year, although in 2023 the growth of the largest Latin American economy will slow down to 1, 1%.
Local analysts expect the Mexican economy to show progress for the third consecutive quarter when figures on GDP performance between April and June are released later this week, although the momentum is running out of steam due to external pressures, such as the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China.
The upward revision for the region also reflects stronger macroeconomic data from Chile and Colombia, the Fund said.
With information from Reuters and AFP.
