Latin America Economics Update A fresh look at fiscal positions in Latin America Fiscal balances have generally improved across Latin America this year (barring Chile and Colombia) but we think that governments in most major economies will struggle to implement the substantial... 17th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Higher rates quickly adding to Brazil’s fiscal challenge By next year, Brazil’s public sector interest payments could be almost twice as large (at ~8% of GDP) as they were in 2020, making the challenge of stabilising the public debt-to-GDP ratio all the... 15th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Banxico sticking to gradual pace of tightening The Mexican central bank’s 25bp rate hike, to 5.00%, and the accompanying statement showed little sign that policymakers are likely to follow their peers in Latin America by upping the pace of... 12th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina’s election: approaching a fork in the road The ruling Frente de Todos (FdT) coalition is likely to lose some of its power in congress in Argentina’s midterm elections on Sunday. Policymaking could subsequently go in one of two ways. Our... 10th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update We expect the Brazilian real to remain under pressure We think that the Brazilian real will weaken a bit further against the US dollar over the next year, as fiscal risks and deteriorating terms of trade continue to weigh on the currency. In view of the... 4th November 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Does Brazil’s inverted yield curve point to a recession? Brazil’s inverted yield curve has raised concerns that the economy may be on the brink of a recession, but it doesn’t have a particularly good track record as a leading indicator for economic... 4th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update A closer look at the latest surveys The latest survey data suggest that GDP growth held up relatively well in Brazil and picked up slightly in Mexico in Q4. In the meantime, Chile’s red-hot recovery is continuing which will keep the... 3rd November 2021 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Tighter financial conditions to hold back recoveries Financial conditions in Latin America have tightened sharply this year, most notably in Brazil and Chile, on the back of aggressive monetary tightening and growing political and/or fiscal risks. With... 28th October 2021 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: fiscal risks to push Selic rate into double digits The Brazilian central bank’s decision to up the pace of tightening to a 150bp rate hike (which took the Selic rate to 7.75%) was a clear response to concerns about a looser fiscal stance. With fiscal... 28th October 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: signs of stagflation The multitude of supply shocks hitting Brazil’s economy are likely to keep inflation at 7-10% well into next year and cause the pace of recovery to slow to a crawl in the next few quarters. Overall... 14th October 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: front-loaded tightening cycle has further to run The surprisingly large 125bp rate hike delivered by Chile’s central bank yesterday, to 2.75%, suggests that it will continue to front-load its tightening cycle to clamp down on high inflation. We now... 14th October 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Lessons from Brazil’s 2001/02 energy crisis The threat of energy shortages looms over Brazil once again. The country’s experience with electricity rationing in 2001/02 offers a useful guide about how the situation may pan out. We estimate that... 7th October 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Five reasons why Mexico’s recovery will disappoint There are five key headwinds to Mexico’s economy, including high inflation and shortages in the auto sector, which suggest to us that the recovery will disappoint expectations from here. We now... 5th October 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: Copom keeping its foot on the brakes The statement from yesterday’s Brazilian central bank meeting, at which the Selic rate was raised by 100bp (to 6.25%), made clear that Copom is on the warpath to stop inflation expectations rising... 23rd September 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Is high inflation here to stay in Latin America? Following a surge in inflation across the region this year, we think that headline rates are at, or close to, a peak in major Latin American economies. But strong underlying price pressures will... 15th September 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Peru: BCRP stepping up pace of tightening Yesterday’s larger 50bp rate hike, to 1.00%, delivered by Peru’s central bank (BCRP) suggests it is becoming increasingly concerned about the inflation outlook. With inflation set to stay above the 1... 10th September 2021 · 3 mins read
