Latin America Economics Update Colombia: Ecopetrol sale won’t solve fiscal problems A partial sale of Colombia’s state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol, now appears likely and should limit the scale of fiscal austerity, particularly in 2020. But Colombia is yet to fully adjust to low oil... 26th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil, soybeans and the trade war Brazil would be the biggest loser if China increases its imports of US soybeans as part of a trade deal. But the overall impact on Brazil’s export revenues and overall GDP growth would probably be... 25th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Explaining the weakness in Mexican industry The slump in Mexican industry late last year largely reflects domestic problems, particularly in the mining sector. But with the US economy now coming off the boil, the external environment will be an... 25th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Unpacking the Pemex problem The Mexican government’s bailout for Pemex last week is unlikely to solve the company’s fundamental issues, which stem from an extremely heavy tax burden and chronically low productivity. In the... 20th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: pension plan ambitious, but just a starting point The Brazilian government’s pension reform plan unveiled today lives up to high hopes and is likely to sustain the rally in local markets over the coming weeks. But history suggests that the... 20th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for interest rates in the Andes? The weakness of the latest inflation and economic activity data in Chile means we now think that the central bank will pause its tightening cycle until next year (previously we expected 50bp of hikes... 18th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Venezuela likely to need large debt write-down Views are polarised about size of the losses Venezuelan bondholders might face in an eventual debt restructuring, with some suggesting only modest debt relief is needed and others suggesting a large... 12th February 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile hikes rates but strikes less hawkish tone The statement accompanying the Chilean central bank’s decision to hike its policy rate by 25bp to 3.00% last night was slightly less hawkish than the previous one, and supports our view for fewer rate... 31st January 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update US sanctions PDVSA, next few months critical The decision by the US to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, will lead to a large loss of export earnings in the next few months. If Maduro can cling on to power during... 29th January 2019 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update What now for Venezuela? The decision by the US and other governments to recognise the leader of Venezuela’s opposition Juan Guaido as president seems to have ratcheted up the pressure on the Maduro regime. Regardless of how... 24th January 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Bolsonaro puts trade ahead of fiscal reform at Davos Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s headline speech in Davos today suggests that opening up the economy to international trade will be a major priority, something that would boost the economy’s long... 22nd January 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: why trade liberalisation would help Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro seems to be pushing one of his campaign pledges to liberalise trade and, if successful, history suggests that this might plausibly add as much as 0.75%-pts to... 16th January 2019 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Banxico continues to toe hawkish line The statement accompanying the Mexican central bank’s decision to raise interest rates by another 25bp was very hawkish, suggesting that the board is not done tightening yet. As such, we’re still... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina: more to net trade boost than weaker peso GDP data released last night confirmed that Argentina entered a technical recession in Q3 and, while net trade provided a positive contribution to growth, we don’t think that this can be pinned solely... 19th December 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Three questions on Mexico’s airport bond saga The Mexico City airport bond dispute appears to be at an impasse and, if the wrangle drags on, sovereign bond yields are likely to drift up, and Banxico would be more likely to hike interest rates... 18th December 2018 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Amlo’s 2019 budget: tacking back to the centre? The prudent 2019 budget presented by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo) at the weekend is probably an attempt to try to get investors back onside after a series of policy moves which... 17th December 2018 · 1 min read
