Brasilia, Sep 29 (IANS): Brazil will see a decline of 2.8 percent in its gross domestic product (GDP) this year, according to the latest poll released by the country's central bank.

If the latest projection, based on the poll done among the country's financial entities, proves correct, it will mark the worst economic downturn since 1990, when the economy shrank 4.35 percent, reported Xinhua.

A previous poll of financial institutions had placed economic contraction at 2.7 percent.

The growth forecast for 2016 was also downgraded, for the eighth time in a row, from 0.8 percent to one percent.

Economic recession is being accompanied by burgeoning inflation over the official target of 4.5 percent, with a two-point margin, forcing the central bank to keep the benchmark interest rate high.

Also on Monday, consulting firm Serasa Experian reported a 16.1 percent rise in delinquent debt on the part of Brazilian companies in August, compared to the month before.

The failure to pay debt was blamed on the recession, the rise in interest rates and the appreciation of the US dollar.