Brasilia - The Brazilian Central Bank said Thursday it expects the world's seventh-largest economy to contract by 0.5% in 2015.
The recession this year in the world's seventh-largest economy would follow 2014's 0.1% contraction in gross domestic product, according to the latest official estimates.
The government-controlled central bank attributed the recession to President Dilma Rousseff's tighter budget policy. Tax hikes and reduced public spending are weighing on domestic demand, as well as the central bank's higher benchmark interest rate, which reached an annualized 12.75% this month.