Latin America Economics Update Currency concerns prevent interest rate cut in Peru The fact that the Peruvian nuevo sol has been caught up in the latest EM currency sell-off probably convinced policymakers to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.25% last night. But with economic... 13th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Currencies unlikely to go into freefall All of Latin America’s currencies will probably weaken further against the dollar in the near-term as we approach a first interest rate hike by the Fed. But with most currencies no longer appearing to... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Trade Monitor EM export downturn deepens The value of EM exports fell at the sharpest rate in more than five years in January. The timing of Chinese New Year was partly to blame, and an improvement is almost guaranteed in February, given the... 12th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Political crisis now biggest threat to Brazil’s economy The corruption scandal at state-owned oil company, Petrobras, has developed over the past week or so into a full-blown national political crisis that, in our view, is now the biggest headwind facing... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack Fragile EM currencies set for further weakness The fall in emerging market currencies since the beginning of this year has picked up pace this month. Two main forces appear to have been at work. First, the depreciation of the euro has led the... 11th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Assessing the fallout from the EM currency slump Most EM currencies have weakened substantially against the US dollar this year. For a few EMs with large dollar debts, such as Turkey, this could lead to financial strains. And the impact of currency... 10th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Fragile five whittled down to three The fragile five have been whittled down to three as economic reforms have helped to reduce the vulnerability of the Indian rupee and Indonesian rupiah to the recent bout of emerging market currency... 9th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Feb.) Mexican inflation edged down to 3.0% y/y in February and there is still little evidence to suggest that a weaker peso is feeding through to higher inflation. Inflation should remain close to the... 9th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update China unlikely to write a blank cheque for Lat Am The slump in commodity prices since last summer has exposed fragilities in the balance of payments of several economies in Latin America. But while that has left some governments looking to China for... 6th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Brazil & Chile Consumer Prices (Feb.) Brazilian inflation surged to its highest annual rate in a decade last month and the relentless increase, coupled with the recent sell-off in the real, bolsters the case for interest rate hikes to... 6th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Financial Risk Monitor Venezuela in crisis, but EM risks generally low Our updated Capital Economic Risk Indicator (CERI) reports that the overall level of emerging market (EM) risk remains at a decade low, but that concerns remain about a handful of countries. Venezuela... 5th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Brazil Industrial Production (Jan.) The 2.0% m/m rise in Brazilian industrial production in January looks encouraging, but a rebound was always expected after the sharp 3.2% m/m drop last month. And the bigger picture is that industrial... 4th March 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM manufacturing activity steady, but sluggish The latest PMI data suggest that manufacturing growth across the emerging world remained stable, yet sluggish, in the first couple of months of this year. Some of the larger EMs are still struggling... 4th March 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Credit growth continues to cool, but concerns remain The slowdown in private sector lending growth across Latin America should help to ease concerns about the build-up of credit bubbles in the region. However, the accumulation of private sector debt... 3rd March 2015 · 1 min read
EM Valuations Monitor Time for EM equities to shine? After a tough end to last year, emerging market equities have continued to pick up over the past month. Admittedly, they have lagged behind equities in developed markets, which have performed very... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Data Response Chile Retail Sales, Ind. Prod. & Copper Prod. (Jan.) A strong rebound in mining output led to a sharp rise in industrial production in January. But mining output is volatile and we wouldn’t read too much into this. Even so, there are signs from the rest... 27th February 2015 · 1 min read
