Weekly Report - 27 September 2012 (WR-12-38)

BRAZIL | Fitch cuts 2012 forecast to just 1.5%. The rating agency Fitch has cut its real annual GDP forecast for Brazil in 2012 to just 1.5%, shaving a full percentage point off its previous forecast of 2.5%. It expects inflation to remain above 5%. Fitch notes that Brazil is the worst performing of the BRICS group  this year, well behind China (7.8%), India (6%) and Russia (3.5%), but it expects Brazilian growth to rebound to 4.2% in 2013 after “a cyclical trough”. That is still below its original forecast of 4.5%, however.