Growth accelerates in Q2 but falters at start of Q3

The raft of official GDP data released over the past month confirmed that, having slowed sharply since the start of 2012, growth in Latin America picked up pace in the second quarter of this year. We estimate that regional growth accelerated to just over 3% y/y in Q2, up from a four-year low of 1.6% y/y in Q1. GDP data in several countries – including Brazil and Colombia – were significantly stronger than expected. Nonetheless, the weaker tone of activity data from the start of Q3 has dampened hopes that the recovery might build over the second half of this year.