Latin America Economics Weekly Brazil’s spending review, Argentina’s surplus, Chile rates A proposed “spending review” in Brazil would, if approved by President Lula, ease fears about the state of the public finances and reduce the chances of aggressive rate hikes by the BCB. Elsewhere... 18th October 2024 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Sheinbaum’s first two weeks in office, Banxico minutes President Claudia Sheinbaum's first two weeks in office suggest that she will seek to maintain Mexico’s close geopolitical alignment with the US. But on the domestic front, there have been more... 11th October 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly BanRep’s fiscal worries, Chile’s deficit, Brazil’s upgrade The decision by Colombia’s central bank to maintain rather than step up the pace of easing at this week’s policy meeting suggests that officials there are increasingly worried about the fiscal... 4th October 2024 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Mexico in Trump’s firing line, Colombia’s budget drama Donald Trump's threats this week to impose tariffs on imports of cars and agricultural equipment from Mexico highlight how big a risk his return to the White House would pose to Mexico’s free trade... 27th September 2024 · 7 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Argentina’s budget, Brazil’s hike, new macro forecasts The Argentine government's ambitious 2025 budget plans unveiled this week are underpinned by very optimistic economic projects and meeting the 'zero deficit' target will be challenging. And at the... 20th September 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Amlo’s last hurrah, oil price drop, Fed easing and Lat Am Outgoing Mexican President Amlo’s controversial judicial reform has been one of the key drivers of the weakness in the peso and we think there’s still some downside risk to the currency, especially if... 13th September 2024 · 7 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly The BCB’s upcoming U-turn The strength of Brazil’s economy shown in the Q2 GDP figures released this week means the central bank (BCB) now looks set to raise interest rates, having cut rates as recently as May. Still, monetary... 6th September 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly New bosses for Pemex and the BCB The nomination of Gabriel Galípolo, an ally of President Lula, as the next head of Brazil’s central bank has raised concerns about the politicisation of monetary policy (and a dovish tilt). But... 30th August 2024 · 8 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Banxico, Chile’s current account, Brazil’s rate hike debate The data out of Mexico this week, alongside the minutes to the central bank’s August meeting, support our view that Banxico will continue its easing cycle in September. Elsewhere, the further... 23rd August 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Argentine inflation, Brazil’s hawks, change in Venezuela? Suggestions from the governments of Brazil and Colombia have led to a bit of movement towards solving Venezuela’s post-election stand-off. A lot remains uncertain, but our sense is that the likelihood... 16th August 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Banxico cuts, LatAm and the global market turmoil The Mexican peso was on a rollercoaster ride this week but, as we'd expected, Banxico placed more emphasis on the weakness in the economy as it pressed ahead with a 25bp cut (to 10.75%). And the... 9th August 2024 · 6 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Venezuela: rig and repress The declaration that incumbent Nicolás Maduro won Venezuela’s presidential election has been met with protests and international pressure for a full account of the results. But our sense at this stage... 2nd August 2024 · 7 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Venezuela votes, Mexico’s gigafactory & inflation worries Opinion polls suggest that Venezuela’s election on Sunday could bring Chavismo to an end, allowing the economy to open up and for sanctions to be lifted. But we doubt that the economic damage of the... 26th July 2024 · 8 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Argentina intervenes (again), Q2 shaping up to be weaker Argentine financial assets sold off this week after Economy Minister Caputo announced that the central bank will start to sell dollars in the parallel market. The plan shows that the government is... 19th July 2024 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Food inflation, US tariffs, Colombia’s public finance risks The raft of June inflation data out this week was not as bad as the rise in the headline rates would suggest, as higher food inflation masked falls in in core inflation. Core inflation appears most... 12th July 2024 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Weekly Chile slows, Colombia rates, Milei’s second reform stage The softer-than-expected activity data out of Chile this week add to the evidence that the economy lost momentum in Q2, which poses a downside risk to our growth forecast this year. Elsewhere... 5th July 2024 · 8 mins read