No bottom in sight to Brazil's economic woes.
That's according to the latest survey of 100 economists published by the Brazilian central bank on Monday, which showed that Brazil's recession is now expected to extend into 2016.
Latin America's largest economy is now seen to shrink 0.15 per cent next year as president Dilma Rousseff struggles to shore up the country's public finances and contain the political fallout from the Petrobras corruption probe.
That's a complete reversal of the 1.8 per cent growth forecast at the start of the year and underscores how Brazil's economy has deteriorated sharply in recent weeks amid the continued fall in commodity prices, growing public infighting and rising inflation and unemployment.
Meanwhile the real is now at a 13 year low following a 24 per cent collapse against the dollar this year.
Joaquim Levy, Brazil's finance minister, was forced last month to slash the government's target for balancing the country's budget this year as the steep downturn caused by the end of the commodity super cycle crushed tax revenue.
In response, Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on Brazil's credit rating to negative — raising the risk that the country could lose its current BBB- investment grade rating.
Popular anger over Brazil's recession (the country is now expected to contract more than 2 per cent this year) prompted Brazilians to stage the country's third mass protest this year over the weekend.
As the FT's John Paul Rathbone reports, public anger over perceived economic mismanagement and corruption has driven Ms Rousseff's approval rating down to 8 per cent — the lowest ever for a Brazilian president and many of those protesting on Sunday were calling for her impeachment.