Brasilia, Jun 30 (IANS): The Central Bank of Brazil has upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2023 from 1.2 per cent in March to 2 per cent, and lowered its inflation estimates for the coming years.

In a quarterly report, the bank said that the higher-than-expected 1.9 per cent economic growth in the first quarter of 2023 was mainly ascribed to the agriculture and livestock sector, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, the evolution of the industrial and services sectors indicates that the economy continues to slow down, said the report.

The report forecasts 5 per cent inflation for 2023, down from the 5.8 per cent forecast in March, but still above the upper margin of tolerance of 4.75 pe rcent set by the target rate of 3.25 per cent with wiggle room of 1.5 percentage points.

Meanwhile, the inflation forecast for 2024 dropped from 3.6 to 3.4 per cent, and for 2025, from 3.2 to 3.1 per cent, with target inflation set at 3 per cent for both years.