The official forecast for the growth of the Brazilian economy in 2014 has dropped from 2.5 percent to 1.8 percent. The figure can be found in the Evaluation Report for Revenues and Expenses, released Tuesday (Jul 22) by the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management.

Apart from the lowest GDP expansion, the government’s economy staff has raised the prediction for the official inflation as measured through the National Broad Consumer Price Index (“IPCA”), which should close out the year at 6.2 percent, against a previous 5.6 percent. The target set by the government for 2014 is 4.6 percent, with a maximum tolerance range of two additional percentage points—6.5 percent.

In spite of the government’s efforts to base its work on a higher inflation rate and a lower GDP growth, forecasts remain more optimistic than the estimates in the financial sector. According to Boletim Focus, a publication by the Central Bank that shows weekly surveys with information on the financial market, analysts believe that the GDP will close out the year at 0.97 percent, and that the IPCA will reach 6.44 percent in 2014.