IMF deems Brazilian real's slide 'positive'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday said the devaluation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar will help reactivate the country's exports and industrial sector.
"Investment in Brazil has been very, very low, and has contracted, so the slide in the exchange rate is positive," the director of the Western Hemisphere Department of the IMF, Alejandro Werner, said.
"On the other hand, the moment in which it is happening increases uncertainty," Werner added.
Still, he stressed exports and industry should benefit from the real's slide.
Werner's comments come a day after the real hit 3.30 to the dollar Thursday for the first time in 12 years, affected by its economic troubles and political unrest.
If the government fails to pass a package of austerity measures through Congress, including a tax increase, it could lead to a cut in its credit rating, as well as investor flight,said Werner.