Brasilia, Mar 18 (IANS): The Brazilian government has cut its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 to 1.5 per cent from 2.1 per cent estimated in November 2021, the Ministry of Economy announced, adding that the forecast for 2023 remained at 2.5 per cent.

According to the Ministry's Economic Policy Secretariat, the cut is due to statistical revisions derived from the 2019 national accounts update released in December, and lower growth than projected in the second half of 2021, reports Xinhua news agency.

Last year, industry and agriculture were adversely affected by bottlenecks in global supply chains and by the biggest water crisis in Brazil in almost 100 years.

This year's economic performance, according to the government, will be driven by the expansion of the labour market, increased investment, a more robust service sector and continued fiscal consolidation.

The government also revised its estimate of official inflation, measured by the national Broad Consumer Price Index, to 6.55 per cent in 2022, up from 4.7 per cent in November, while keeping the forecast at 3.25 per cent for 2023.