Latin America Economics Update Colombian rate-cutting cycle over We suspect that the interest rate cutting cycle in Colombia has come to an end. Admittedly, to the extent that there are changes in the next 6-9 months, rates are more likely to fall than rise. But... 8th April 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update What next for Brazilian inflation? Various changes to regulated prices, coupled with general uncertainty over the path of food inflation, mean that it has become increasingly difficult to predict month-to-month changes in Brazilian... 4th April 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina moves a step closer to default Argentina’s final offer to ‘holdout’ bondholders looks set to fall well short of the level required to reach an agreement, leaving the government closer than ever to a technical default. With the... 3rd April 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Manufacturing recovery slows The latest PMI surveys suggest that Latin America’s manufacturing recovery lost a little steam in the final month of Q1. At a country level, Mexico continues to outperform Brazil. 2nd April 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentine debt offer may be too little, too late Time is running out for Argentina to find a workable solution in a US court case which threatens to trigger a messy sovereign default. While the country’s fate is still technically in its own hands... 28th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina Activity Indicator (Feb.) Our Argentina Activity Indicator suggests that the modest rebound in growth witnessed in late 2012 has continued in the early months of 2013. Even so, we are sceptical about the chances of a sustained... 26th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombian rates to remain low for an extended period We suspect that the decision by the Colombian central bank to reduce interest rates by 50bps to 3.25% was an attempt to front-load rate cuts rather than the start of a more aggressive easing cycle... 25th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexican peso bucks EM sell-off Latin American assets and currencies have sold off over the past month as a weaker pace of emerging market growth and fears of an escalation of the euro-zone debt crisis have weighed on investor... 25th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Colombian industry to remain under pressure Today’s Colombian GDP data were strong, but they also signal that a boom in the natural resources sector is harming other parts of the economy – notably industry. As a result, we doubt that GDP will... 21st March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Limits to credit-driven growth come into focus Latin America’s recent lending boom continues to deflate, strengthening our belief that credit can’t be as big a driver of growth going forward as it has been in recent years. With household balance... 20th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update New exchange system won’t solve Venezuela’s dollar drought Venezuela’s new foreign exchange system will do nothing to reduce the economy’s reliance upon high oil prices and petro-loans from China. If either of these props give way, “Chavismo” will quickly... 19th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Monetary policy gets interesting Monetary policy in Latin America has suddenly become interesting. Having kept interest rates on hold for over three years, Mexico unexpectedly cut borrowing costs earlier this month. Meanwhile, Brazil... 19th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chilean growth remains strong, but likely to slow ahead Chile posted another quarter of robust GDP growth in Q4, but we remain concerned about the extent to which growth has become dependent on the strength of domestic demand. Meanwhile, the latest data... 18th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update BANXICO unlikely to step in to stem peso appreciation yet We expect the Mexican peso to continue to outperform its peers over the coming months. But while the peso may appreciate towards 12/$ this year, we doubt that the central bank (BANXICO) is about to... 18th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chilean central bank edging closer to FX intervention Chile’s central bank (BCC) stopped short of announcing measures to weaken the peso at last night’s policy meeting, but its accompanying statement revealed mounting concerns about the strength of the... 15th March 2013 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico rate cut likely to be a one-off Today’s cut in Mexican interest rates was a surprise, particularly in light of further evidence that the US economy is strengthening. We suspect that it was a one-off and do not think it marks the... 8th March 2013 · 1 min read
