Latin America Economics Update Is Mexico sleepwalking into a crisis? Mexico’s economy is likely to suffer a similar fall in output this year as it did during the Tequila Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis. Despite its reticence, the government will ultimately have... 25th March 2020 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Gauging the impact of Lat Am currency falls The turmoil in Latin American currency markets will push up inflation, particularly in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and it already appears to have resulted in strains in corporate bond markets. One... 23rd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update BCB highlights limited space for policy response The Brazilian central bank’s (BCB’s) statement accompanying last night’s decision to cut the Selic rate by 50bp was surprisingly cautious and suggested that further easing isn’t on the cards. With the... 19th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Tighter financial conditions a growing headwind Financial conditions have generally tightened more in Latin America (particularly Mexico) than in the rest of the emerging world in recent weeks. This presents another reason to think that activity... 18th March 2020 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Is Ecuador on the brink of default? The fall in oil prices has increased default risk in Ecuador. But given the government’s track record of fiscal austerity and the possibility of further multilateral financial support, the likelihood... 11th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Latin America: Counting the cost of lower oil prices The latest fall in oil prices will aggravate Venezuela’s crisis and increase the risk of a sovereign default in Ecuador. Elsewhere, there is likely to be a hit to growth in Mexico and Colombia. And... 9th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update What next for the Brazilian real? The Brazilian real has fallen to a record low and, while our central view is that it will recover some lost ground in the second half of the year, it will remain much weaker than most currently... 5th March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Latin America: the impact of the coronavirus The spread of the coronavirus has prompted us to revise down our forecasts for the global economy. This Update sets out the revisions to our views for Latin America in more detail. Policymakers... 3rd March 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina: what to make of the IMF’s latest review The IMF’s (belated) announcement that Argentina’s public debt is “unsustainable” removes any doubt that private bondholders will need to stomach large haircuts in a restructuring. But investors are... 20th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update What’s next for Latam dollar bond spreads? Latin American dollar bonds have performed relatively well since fears related to the coronavirus started to weigh on the region’s financial markets. But if commodity prices and currencies in the... 11th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: the implications of central bank independence The Brazilian government’s plans to enshrine full central bank independence in law would help to both keep longer-term inflation expectations low and bring down real interest rates. This adds to the... 6th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: easing cycle over, but rates to stay low The statement accompanying the Brazilian central bank’s meeting last night gave a clear steer that the easing cycle is now over. With growth likely to stay weak and inflation low, we expect that the... 6th February 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Three key questions on the Buenos Aires debt saga The province of Buenos Aires could feasibly default on a $250mn payment on Wednesday. In this Update, we answer three key questions about the current situation, the possible outcomes for Argentina’s... 3rd February 2020 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico: Flat again Mexico dodged another technical recession in Q4, we think that the weakness seen in the later months of last year will persist into 2020, causing growth to fall far below consensus expectations. 30th January 2020 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update What next for Chilean bond yields? We expect that Chile’s central bank will cut interest rates later this year, and that this will push local currency bond yields down over the next 12 months. But with the demands of protestors likely... 29th January 2020 · 3 mins read
