Brasília, March 29, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the sixth review of its credit agreement with Brazil and, with this, liberated another US$ 1.34 billion, giving Brazil the right to withdraw a total of US$ 9.6 billion. The Brazilian government announced that it does not intend to use this amount, since the agreement represents a "precautionary accord."

In an official note, the IMF agrees with the "cautious economic policy" adopted in response to the rate of inflation. This "demonstrates that government authorities are committed to making sure that [the rate of] inflation is at the core of its targets for 2004," reports the director of the Fund, Anne Krueger, who foresees "robust" economic growth for this year.

The president of the Central Bank, Henrique Meirelles, declared this weekend, during an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) seminar in Lima, Peru, that the Brazilian economy will grow 3.5% in 2004. This forecast was also forwarded to the IMF in a letter of intentions signed by the Minister of Finance, Antônio Palocci, together with Meirelles.

Translator: David Silberstein