Latin America Economics Update Ecuador: political turmoil brings default risks back The looming impeachment trial of Ecuador’s president Guillermo Lasso marks a further intensification of the country’s political crisis and suggests that the recent experiment with market-friendly... 10th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil Industrial Production (Mar.) The surprisingly strong 1.1% m/m increase in Brazilian industrial production in March suggests that the economy fared a bit better than we’d expected in Q1. The risks to our GDP growth forecast for... 10th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Apr.) The drop in Mexico’s headline inflation rate, to 6.3% y/y in April, was broad-based and will provide some comfort to officials at the central bank that price pressures are finally easing. This means... 9th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly BanRep’s inflation concerns, Chile votes (again) We warned a few weeks ago that Colombia’s central bank (BanRep) was too sanguine on inflation risks, but hawkish comments this week show that policymakers’ views on inflation are shifting towards our... 5th May 2023 · 9 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update How feasible is a BRICS currency? The idea of a new BRICS currency to settle trade or hold in reserves instead of the dollar has been doing the rounds recently. This could be modelled on the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. But getting... 4th May 2023 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Copom pours cold water on near-term rate cut hopes Brazilian policymakers gave a firm push back against any expectations for imminent monetary easing at yesterday’s central bank meeting, supporting our view that interest rates will be lowered a bit... 4th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Strength in exports unlikely to last The surge in exports from Latin America’s major economies in March suggests that the upside risks to our GDP growth and currency forecasts are building. But with advanced economies poised to fall into... 3rd May 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Argentina’s peso woes, Paraguay’s China-Taiwan vote The measures undertaken by Argentina's government to stem the run on the peso over the past couple of weeks might provide some temporary relief, but with inflation and the fiscal position continuing... 28th April 2023 · 7 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico GDP (Q1 Prov.) The 1.1% q/q rise in Mexican GDP in Q1 marked a pick-up from the end of last year, but a fresh slowdown is on the cards as a recession in the US and tight policy at home will take their toll. 28th April 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Colombia: political risks back in the spotlight The replacement of Colombia’s market-friendly finance minister José Antonio Ocampo with a close ally of President Petro is likely to lead to a sell-off in Colombia’s financial assets when markets open... 27th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Monetary policy stance slowly shifting The raft of inflation data over the past couple of weeks will have provided some relief for Latin American central banks, with headline rates in most countries now on a clear downward trajectory. In... 26th April 2023 · 15 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil IPCA-15 (April 2023) The drop in Brazilian inflation to a 30-month low of 4.2% y/y in the middle of April was mainly a result of a sharp decline in food inflation, which is at its lowest rate since the start of the... 26th April 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Can Chile’s private sector cope with higher interest rates? There’s little evidence (so far) that the surge in interest rate is leading to widespread debt servicing problems in Chile’s private sector, but there are pockets of vulnerability in the household... 25th April 2023 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack The monetary policy tide is (slowly) turning EM central banks have, in general, remained in hawkish mood over recent weeks. Tightening cycles have continued in Mexico, Colombia and South Africa in response to high inflation, while policymakers... 24th April 2023 · 9 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Bi-Weekly CPI (Apr.) The fall in Mexico’s headline inflation rate to an 18-month low of 6.2%y/y in the first half of April was broad-based and will provide some comfort to officials at Banxico that price pressures are... 24th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Brazil’s fiscal rule, shifting monetary policy tide? The new fiscal framework presented to congress by Brazil’s government this week would, if implemented in full, go a long way towards stabilising Brazil's public finances. But there are several hurdles... 21st April 2023 · 8 mins read
