WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The International Monetary Fund Monday approved a $6.6 billion loan extension to Brazil to run through March 2005.
The loan was originally approved in September 2002, and the fifth and final review of the loan was concluded last week.
"Brazil has come a long way since last year's financial market volatility. The response of the new administration to financial pressures has been both ambitious and courageous, balancing fiscal and monetary policy discipline with the resolute pursuit of key social goals to relieve poverty and strengthen the social safety net," IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler said.
"The successful implementation of these policies has resulted in a rapid restoration of confidence, which is being clearly reflected in the performance of financial market variables. Improved market sentiment, in part reflected in those variables, is driving an emerging recovery of economic activity, and demand growth should continue to accelerate in the coming year," he added.
