Latin America Data Response Brazil IPCA-15 (March 2023) The further decline in inflation in Brazil, to 5.4% y/y in the middle of this month, was driven by lower food inflation, but core price pressures remain very strong. As a result, the release won’t... 24th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Rapid Response Mexico Bi-Weekly CPI (Mar 2023.) Mexico’s headline inflation rate dropped back by more than expected, to 7.1% y/y, in the first half of March but the further rise in services inflation will continue to concern policymakers at Banxico... 23rd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: Copom sticks to its guns The statement accompanying the Brazilian central bank’s decision to keep the Selic rate unchanged at 13.75% yesterday will have disappointed some (not least in the government) that thought global... 23rd March 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Chart Pack Global turmoil hits Lat Am when it’s already down Strains in the global banking sector have flared up at a time when Latin America was in the midst of a period of economic weakness. Regional GDP fell in the final quarter of last year and surveys for... 22nd March 2023 · 12 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM banks: revisiting credit risks Spillovers from the global banking crisis to EMs appear limited so far. Encouragingly, too, most EM banks appear to be well placed to weather a period of rising non-performing loans resulting from... 21st March 2023 · 4 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Markets Capital Flows Monitor EMs, in general, don’t appear to have suffered large capital outflows over the past 10 days or so amid the turmoil in the global banking sector. But some countries with large current account deficits... 20th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Data Response Chile GDP (Q4) The weaker-than-expected 0.1% q/q expansion in Chile in Q4 of last year confirms that high inflation and tight monetary policy are taking a heavy toll on the economy. We think the economy will... 20th March 2023 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Banking turmoil spillovers, Argentina’s IMF loan Latin America's direct exposure to SVB and Credit Suisse is limited, but the turmoil is still likely to have indirect effects on the region. To the extent that growth in the US is weaker, Mexican... 17th March 2023 · 8 mins read
Latin America Economics Update “Malbec dollar” won’t save Argentina from devaluation A preferential rate to facilitate wine exports is the latest addition to Argentina’s myriad exchange rates, but it doesn’t address the fundamental problem that the peso is overvalued. We estimate that... 15th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Industrial Production (Jan.) Mexico’s industrial sector stagnated in January as a slump in construction output offset solid increases in output in other subsectors. Early evidence suggests that activity held up well last month... 13th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Could Copom cut (soon)? Chile’s tax reform We think that investors in Brazil are getting ahead of themselves by pricing in rate cuts as early as Q2. Despite February’s fall in inflation, core price pressures are still uncomfortably strong... 10th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Latin America Data Response Brazil IPCA (Feb. 2023) The further fall in Brazilian inflation, to 5.6% y/y in February, was driven mainly by a drop in food inflation. Core inflation pressures remain uncomfortably strong for the central bank, which... 10th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Data Response Mexico Consumer Prices (Feb.) Mexico’s headline inflation rated edged down to 7.6% y/y in February but the further pick-up in services inflation will continue to worry policymakers at Banxico. We think that the tightening cycle... 9th March 2023 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico: strong wage growth to curb fall in inflation Headline inflation in Mexico will continue to fall back over next couple of years, but strong wage growth means that it won’t return to Banxico’s 2-4% tolerance band until late-2024. Against that... 8th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM slowdowns and NPLs: lessons from the past Non-performing loan (NPL) ratios have risen by as much as 4-5%-pts during non-banking crisis downturns in EMs in the past. This time around, there are reasons to think that the increase will be... 6th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Wage pressures, Mexico’s Tesla plant Labour market data released across the region this week flew under the radar, but the figures provide worrying signs that rapid wage growth in Brazil will continue to keep core inflation high. We take... 3rd March 2023 · 7 mins read
