LatinNews Daily - 16 September 2024

*The economic policy secretariat (SPE) of Brazil’s finance ministry has released the September edition of its bi-monthly Boletim MacroFiscal report containing the secretariat’s economic projections, which showed an annual GDP growth forecast of 3.2%. This marks an increase from the 2.5% forecast in the July edition of the bulletin. The growth projections for all three major economic sectors – agriculture, industry, and services – improved since the previous bulletin. The growth forecast for the agricultural sector was raised from -2.5% in July to -1.9% in September. The services sector is expected to grow by 3.3% this year, up from the 2.8% forecast in July, while the industrial sector is projected to grow by 3.4%, up from 2.6%. The Boletim MacroFiscal also includes the government’s annual inflation forecast, which increased from 3.90% in July to 4.25% in this latest edition, close to the upper limit of the annual inflation target range of 3.00% +/-1.5 set by the central bank (BCB).