Latin America Economics Weekly Argentina’s new superministry, Chile minutes The appointment of Sergio Massa as head of Argentina’s newly-created economic “superministry” provides some hope that the government will stick to its latest IMF deal but, even so, meeting the Fund’s... 29th July 2022 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Colombia’s trade deficit, Chilean peso’s rollercoaster The somewhat surprising widening of Colombia’s trade deficit in May suggests that the current account deficit isn’t narrowing as we’d expected. This will keep the peso on the backfoot and the central... 22nd July 2022 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Brazil’s election giveaways, panic stations in Chile The rapid rise in inflation and sharp falls in the peso have clearly spooked Chile’s central bank and we now expect the policy rate to reach 11.0%, from 9.75% now, which puts us on the hawkish side of... 15th July 2022 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Inflation near a peak, but little comfort for central banks Inflation rose to multi-decade highs in much of Latin America last month and, while it should peak in Q3, headline rates will remain uncomfortably high for some time. Central banks in the region... 14th July 2022 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor Capital outflows from EMs picked up over the past month and are likely to persist over the rest of the year. That’s a particular threat to those EMs whose current account deficits have widened or are... 12th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil & Chile Consumer Prices (Jun.) The increases in inflation in Brazil (to 11.9% y/y) and Chile (to 12.5% y/y) last month set the ground for 50bp hikes in policy rates at their respective central banks’ next meetings (in Chile’s case... 8th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile’s economy heading into choppy waters Having defied gravity in 2021, this year is shaping up to be much tougher for Chile’s economy and we think that the economy will contract in both Q3 and Q4. Despite the weakening growth outlook, high... 5th July 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack High inflation fuels strikes and protests High inflation seems to be causing growing unrest in the region, which threatens to be economically disruptive and raise fiscal concerns. Recent protests in Ecuador have hit its oil sector hard, while... 28th June 2022 · 14 mins read
Latin America Economics Update The Codelco strike threat, Chile and the copper price A threatened strike at Chile’s copper giant, Codelco, could knock as much as 0.3%-pts off quarterly GDP growth for every week that workers are on strike and worsen the country’s balance of payments... 21st June 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor Capital outflows from EMs appear to have eased over the past month, but rapidly tightening external financing conditions mean that this won’t last for long. Large outflows already seem to have pushed... 14th June 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile’s current account deficit flashing red Chile is likely to run a current account deficit of 7% of GDP this year, the widest since 1985. Worryingly, this deficit is being increasingly funded by volatile portfolio inflows, making the economy... 13th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: tightening cycle will go further than most expect The guidance in the Monetary Policy Report released by Chile’s central bank today, following on from its 75bp rate hike to 9.00% yesterday, suggests that the tightening cycle has a little further to... 8th June 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Colombia: no more business as usual The first round of Colombia’s presidential election has set up a close race between left-wing Gustavo Petro and populist Rodolfo Hernández in the second round vote on 19 th June. The vote was a major... 30th May 2022 · 14 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor EM growth hit by China lockdown and war in Ukraine Recently-released Q1 GDP figures showed that most EMs performed well at the start of this year, but headwinds are growing. Lockdowns are dealing a heavy blow to China’s economy and spillovers from the... 26th May 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Chile’s new constitution, Brazil’s improving finances Some of the doubts over Chile’s political system have eased after the Constitutional Convention completed a draft of the new charter, but political risks remain high for now, which may keep the peso... 20th May 2022 · 5 mins read
Latin America Data Response Chile GDP (Q1) The 0.8% q/q contraction in Chile’s GDP in Q1 suggests the economy is coming back down to earth after a stellar 2021, and there is a growing chance of a recession this year. Meanwhile, the current... 18th May 2022 · 3 mins read