Latin America Economics Weekly Amlo unnerves, BCB outlook, new FX forecasts Yesterday’s comment by Mexican President López Obrador that Banxico would raise its policy rate by 50bp, four hours before the official decision, is not a big deal in itself. But it adds to the sense... 25th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Banxico’s hawkish tilt as Amlo slips up Yesterday’s unanimous vote by Mexico’s central bank to raise the policy rate by 50bp, to 6.50%, came as no surprise since it had already been revealed by President López Obrador (Amlo) earlier in the... 25th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Bi-Weekly CPI (Mar.) While Mexico’s headline inflation stabilised at 7.3% y/y in the first half of March, the further rise in the core rate to 6.6% y/y suggests that the central bank is still struggling to keep a lid on... 24th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Fed tightening and the fallout for Latin America The US Fed's tightening cycle is unlikely to be a major concern for much of Latin America, although Chile's large current account deficit may become a growing vulnerability. The Fed’s move may also... 18th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Industrial Production (Jan.) The unexpectedly-strong 1.0% m/m rise in Mexico’s industrial production in January suggests the economy came through the Omicron wave in decent shape. That said, the fallout from the war in Ukraine... 11th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update New forecasts for Lat Am inflation & rates We estimate that the impact of higher fuel, food and potentially goods prices triggered by the war in Ukraine will add roughly 1.0%-pt to headline inflation rates across major Latin American economies... 10th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Feb.) The rise in Mexico’s headline inflation to 7.3% y/y in February was mainly driven by a jump in the core rate to 6.6% y/y and the fallout from the war in Ukraine will push inflation up further in the... 9th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Fresh headwinds appear The easing of Omicron waves, and loosening of restrictions, across Latin America will have given a lift to recoveries in recent weeks, but the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine crisis presents a fresh... 24th February 2022 · 16 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Bi-Weekly CPI (Feb.) The small rise in Mexico’s headline inflation rate to 7.2% y/y over the first half of February was driven by a jump in core inflation to 6.5% y/y, suggesting the central bank is struggling in its... 24th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Colombia’s growth spurt, Brazil’s rally Q4 GDP figures out this week showed that Colombia’s surprisingly strong recovery has been fuelled by rapid consumer spending growth, but this is unlikely to last as the boost from the re-opening fades... 18th February 2022 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update High oil prices more harm than good for Lat Am Persistently high oil prices would bode ill for current account positions in much of Latin America, adding to the existing vulnerabilities in Chile. It would also keep inflation elevated, leading to... 16th February 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Regional inflation troubles, Costa Rica votes The recent batch of January inflation data across Latin America made for grim reading and, despite the hawkish response by central banks, inflation rates will remain high until much later this year... 11th February 2022 · 6 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Industrial Production (Dec.) The solid 1.2% m/m rise in Mexico’s industrial production in December was partly driven by a strong rise in auto production as global supply shortages eased. However, Omicron-related disruption will... 11th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Banxico: New Governor, same script The second successive 50bp hike by Mexico’s central bank (to 6.00%), in another 4-1 split on the Board, suggests that it is maintaining its hawkish stance under the new Governor Victoria Rodríguez... 11th February 2022 · 3 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil & Mexico CPI (Jan.) The fall in Mexican inflation to 7.1% y/y suggests that the headline rate has peaked, but the central bank will remain concerned about rising core inflation. As such, we expect another 50bp rate hike... 9th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Major economies floundering, Brazil’s primary surplus While there were some positive signs from the latest activity data for Brazil and Mexico, both economies seem to have started 2022 on the backfoot. Otherwise, fiscal figures show that Brazil's... 4th February 2022 · 7 mins read