Rio, 6/19/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) – The government is on track with its 0.5 percentage point reduction of the Selic, says the president of the Brazilian Institute of Financial Executives (Ibef/RJ), Reynaldo Aloy. "We have been calling for lower interest rates for months. The country's macroeconomic situation has improved significantly and the market has been anxiously awaiting this drop in interest rates. On the other hand, there is room for more improvement in the microeconomic area," said Aloy, adding that the financial market estimate for the Selic is for it to drop to 23% annually (it was 26.5% and is now 26%).

"This reduction of the basic interest rate will translate into an across-the-board improvement in the domestic economic situation. Credit will be easier, consumption will rise, production will get a boost and new jobs will be created. And that will alleviate the unemployment problem," concluded Aloy. (AB)