Aécio Amado
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - The president of the Central Bank (BC), Henrique Meirelles, considered normal the zero growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the final quarter of 2004, following a big increase in the third quarter of the year. The GDP corresponds to the wealth generated by the country. "This is a phenomenon of things settling in place. Completely normal in every process of renewed growth. This is significant, and it is healthy," he commented.

In Meirelles's view, the basic fact is that the economy will grow 5% this year. In his opinion, what is important is that "we project a growth of 4% in 2005, something that was never even entertained in general terms as a possibility by analysts." He explained that the fact that the growth rate was nil doesn't mean that the economy stopped growing. It occurred simply as a process of stabilization in relation to the third quarter.

Translation: David Silberstein