Brazil slashes growth forecast to 2% for 2012

London, Sep 14 (ANI): Brazil has cut its growth forecast for this year as the global downturn hits exports and rising local debt levels weigh on consumption, according to a report.

The country will grow 2% this year, down from its previous forecast of 3%, Finance Minister Guido Mantega predicted, signaling that it would be the weakest annual performance since 2009 and a sharp slowdown from growth of 7.5% in 2010, the BBC reports.

Brazil became the world's sixth-largest economy this year, overtaking the UK after the nation's economy grew 2.7% last year, official figures showed.

President Dilma Rousseff recently launched the first in a series of measures that could inject up to 50 billion dollars into the economy over the next five years, the report said.

The plan included privatising about 14,000km of railways and roads, followed by selling ports and lowering energy costs, it added. (ANI)