Argentina’s new superministry, Chile minutes

The appointment of Sergio Massa as head of Argentina’s newly-created economic “superministry” provides some hope that the government will stick to its latest IMF deal but, even so, meeting the Fund’s targets will be a tall order, especially ahead of next year’s presidential election. Meanwhile, the hawkish minutes from Chile’s central bank meeting in July support our view that monetary policy will be kept tighter for longer than most expect. Finally, although the extra “anti-inflation” measures announced in Mexico this week may help to put inflation on a downward path, price pressures will remain acute over the rest of the year. This will keep Banxico in tightening mode.