Latin America Economic Outlook Weaker global economy to expose local vulnerabilities Relative to the rest of the world, at least, the immediate outlook for Latin America remains good. Nonetheless, vulnerabilities are starting to emerge in a number of the region’s economies, which are... 14th May 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Counting the cost of Argentina’s trade barriers Protectionist trade controls in Argentina are already taking a toll on growth in neighbouring countries, with Paraguay and Uruguay hardest hit. In the longer-term, however, it may be Argentina that... 8th May 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Old concerns re-emerge as Peru’s recovery gains pace An improvement in the global backdrop helped Peru’s economy to gather pace in Q1. This has led to the re-emergence of some familiar concerns over the strength of domestic demand and credit growth... 1st May 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Tweaking our interest rate forecasts We are making some small tweaks to our forecast for interest rates in Latin America. If the global economy weakens later this year, as we expect, it is still likely that most central banks in the... 30th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Inflation has further to fall The decision by Brazil’s central bank earlier this month to cut interest rates once again has raised concerns in some quarters about the outlook for inflation over the rest of this year. As it happens... 25th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update How is growth shaping up in Latin America? It was beginning to feel like somebody had turned the clock back twelve months. With the first quarter of 2012 bringing a renewed sense of calm to global markets and a rebound in activity across the... 19th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chile, Peru signal near-term rate change unlikely Both Chile and Peru kept interest rates unchanged in April and signalled that moves in either direction are unlikely in the near-term. Further ahead, if we are right in expecting the global economic... 18th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Credit growth still uncomfortably strong The recent slowdown in Brazilian bank lending highlights the unsustainable nature of rapid credit growth in parts of Latin America. Credit risks are greatest in Argentina and Venezuela, while the... 16th April 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Markets pause for breath The rebound in financial markets across Latin America since the start of the year has lost some momentum in recent weeks. Having rallied by 10% or so in the first two months of this year, most of the... 29th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Jump in oil prices is a net benefit for Latin America Latin America is one of the few regions to have benefitted from the $25pb jump in oil prices over the past six months or so: higher prices provide a prop to regional growth and, for now at least, the... 28th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil’s growth model under the spotlight News that Brazil last year overtook the UK to become the world’s sixth largest economy is further evidence, if any was needed, of the continued rebalancing of global economic power towards the... 20th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economic Outlook Bumps in the road The immediate outlook for Latin America has brightened in recent months as fears of a renewed crisis in the developed world have eased. But even so, while the region is likely to outperform most... 15th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peruvian inflation poised to fall further in coming months Peru’s central bank (BCRP) kept interest rates on hold at 4.25% last night, maintaining a resolutely neutral monetary policy bias. Nevertheless, with inflation set to fall back more sharply in the... 9th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Capital inflows threaten to destabilise Latin America Large capital inflows to Latin America have resumed in recent months. If we are right in expecting the euro-zone crisis to worsen later this year, then risk appetite is likely to deteriorate and lead... 5th March 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peru to remain among the region’s best performers in 2012 Peru’s economy was one of Latin America’s standout performers in 2011, expanding by 7%. Looking ahead, the country’s solid macro fundamentals, combined with ample space for a policy response in the... 28th February 2012 · 1 min read
Latin America Chart Pack Signs of a return to “two-speed” growth Activity in much of Latin America appears to have picked up over the past couple of months, following the slowdown seen over the second half of last year. But while worries about the overall pace of... 22nd February 2012 · 1 min read