Latin America Economics Update Colombia: pace of policy tightening to remain gradual Policymakers in Colombia hiked interest rates by another 25bp to 4% on Friday night and we expect the tightening cycle to remain gradual. Inflation is unlikely to be a major headache, while we expect... 23rd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: Rapid Q1 growth unlikely to be sustained Strong government spending ahead of Colombia’s presidential elections appears to have supported rapid growth of 6.4% y/y in Q1, but we doubt that the current pace of expansion will be sustained. As... 19th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Santos pips Zuluaga in Colombian elections The re-election of Juan Manuel Santos as the president of Colombia will ensure the continuation of peace talks with the FARC, but is unlikely to signal a shift away from the economy’s reliance on... 16th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Interest rates on hold at 4% in Chile and Peru Policymakers in both Chile and Peru left interest rates unchanged at 4% last night and we expect above target inflation to restrict the room for rate cuts in the second half of the year. On balance... 13th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update A weak first half for growth After a torrid 2013, financial markets across Latin America have enjoyed a decent run over the first half of 2014, with most equity markets up by around 5% and bond yields edging down too. However... 11th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico: Improving inflation outlook to keep interest rates low An improving outlook for inflation in Mexico suggests that Friday’s surprise interest rate cut is unlikely to be reversed in a hurry. We expect interest rates to remain at their new historic low of 3... 9th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update BCB’s inflation headache goes from bad to worse The larger-than-expected rise in Brazil inflation in May leaves it on course to breach the upper bound of its target range over the coming months. This would be a major blow to the central bank... 6th June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Manufacturing PMI points to further weakness in Brazil Today’s manufacturing PMI data for May add to the evidence that the Brazilian economy continued to struggle in the second quarter. Meanwhile, although the US ISM manufacturing index unexpectedly fell... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: Gradual interest rate hikes to continue, for now Colombian policymakers have indicated that they expect interest rates to continue rising gradually over the coming months. As such, we are revising up our forecast. But with growth set to slow and... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian growth slows as consumer spending falters The slowdown in Brazilian GDP growth, from 2.2% y/y in Q4 to 1.9% y/y in Q1, is further evidence that Latin America’s largest economy is still struggling for momentum and could increase pressure on... 30th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil leaves rates unchanged but further hikes possible in 2015 Brazil’s central bank (BCB) called a halt to its tightening cycle last night and now seems unlikely to make any changes in interest rates until after October’s presidential elections. However, it’s... 29th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia election: Zuluaga leads Santos into a run-off A victory for either Oscar Zuluaga or Juan Manuel Santos in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election next month is unlikely to cause a stir in the markets. But with neither candidate... 27th May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexican GDP growth to accelerate despite disappointing Q1 Mexican GDP growth fell short of expectations in the first quarter, but the economy looks set to fare much better over the coming years as the government presses ahead with major investments and the... 23rd May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Bumpy road ahead for Lat Am markets Currencies, equities and bonds have all fared well so far this month after a turbulent past year. While we expect bouts of financial market volatility as US monetary policy becomes less accommodative... 22nd May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentine peso could weaken to 10/$ by year-end The recent depreciation of the Argentine peso may be small, but it could be significant in marking thestart of another prolonged decline. With rampant inflation eroding the economy’s... 21st May 2014 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile GDP: stronger than expected but still weak Chile’s economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of this year, but the bigger picture is that growth has slowed markedly from the 5.5-6.0% rates of recent years. As the commodities... 19th May 2014 · 1 min read
