Brazil’s economy is expected to grow moderately in the first quarter of this year according to the country’s finance minister Henrique Meirelles, Xinhua reports.

“The GDP [gross domestic product] will grow moderately in the first quarter and stay on a growth trajectory during the year,” the Chinese government-run news agency quotes Mr Meirelles as saying. By the final quarter, Mr Meirelles expects GDP could reach 2 percent.

In the first nine months of last year, the economy contracted 4.0 percent. An International Monetary Fund forecast expects the full-year figure will see a contraction of 3.5 percent. The fund says the economy will grow by 0.2 percent this year.