Brazil's economy to be deficit till 2019: IMF

Brasilia, April 14: Brazil's economy will continue to register primary deficits until 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

In its Fiscal Monitor report issued on Wednesday, the IMF said that Brazil's public accounts will have gradually lower deficits for the next three years until it manages to post a primary surplus in 2020, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

In 2016, the IMF foresees a primary deficit equivalent to 1.7 percent of the country's GDP, slightly better than a record 1.9 percent in 2015.

The IMF attributed the long period of negative results to the decrease in public income, rising interest rates and the government's efforts to pay past debts.

The Fund also noted that the country is suffering political troubles, including President Dilma Rousseff's ongoing impeachment process.

"The fact that there is considerable uncertainty associated with the political situation makes the production of such a consistent set of policies over time particularly demanding for Brazil, said Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department.

"In our view, Brazil would benefit from having a strong medium-term credible framework that would provide a fiscal anchor that could be a reference to the set of policies that we see working together: monetary, fiscal and structural," Gaspar added.

IANS