The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) considered "right" decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Central Bank to interrupt the high Selic cycle, the basic interest rate of the economy. The Committee decided on Wednesday to maintain the Selic rate at 14.25% per year after seven consecutive increases. According to a statement of the CNI, the maintenance fee "prevents the deepening recession."
However, the organization criticized the high level of the Selic. For CNI, at the current level, the rate "contributes to the deterioration of economic activity, with impact on the labor market and household income, affecting the future dynamics of inflation."
The representative body of the industry called for a "assertive" fiscal policy and competitiveness agenda to address the current economic times. "The difficulties in the fiscal field, with successive reductions in the fiscal target and cut unsuccessful attempts to spending cause disappointment and mitigate the credibility of economic policy, making the long and costly adjustment," says the statement, which called for structural, clear measures and quick to trust recovery.
The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee today was expected by the market and had already been flagged by the monetary authority. In a statement after the meeting on Wednesday, the committee reiterated that "maintaining this level of the basic interest rate, for sufficiently long period is necessary for the convergence of inflation to the target at the end of 2016".
The goal of inflation measured by Í; Index of Consumer Price (IPCA) is 4.5%, with a margin of two percentage points up or down. For 2015, the expectation of the government's economic team is that the IPCA should end the year at 9.25%, above the target ceiling, which is 6.5%. For 2016, the government works with projection of 5.4% inflation. The government also hopes that economic activity close this year in fall, with a decrease of 1.8%. In 2016, it expects to have increased 0.2%.
