Latin America Economics Update Concerns over inflation to push Peruvian rates higher Last night the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) hiked interest rates by 25bps to 3.75%, as expected. With the outlook for inflation deteriorating interest rates look set to rise further over the... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Mexico's job recovery yet to feed into higher wages Mexico’s labour market is on the mend. But while employment has picked up and the quality of new jobs seems to be improving, this has yet to translate into a pick-up in pay growth. 10th March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Inflation pressures are building, but commodity shock temporary The recent pick up of commodity prices, notably food, will probably drive inflation higher than we had previously expected this year. The good news is that the effects of the commodity price shock... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Assessing the winners and losers from the oil price spike The recent spike in oil prices will impact on different economies within Latin America in different ways. Although it is difficult to say with any great precision, the biggest winner is likely to be... 7th March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian consumers still going strong Brazil’s economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in Q4 but the more worrying news is that the drivers of growth are becoming increasingly unbalanced. 3rd March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Bounce in Brazilian industry not a game changer The modest rebound in Brazilian industrial production in January is good news and the surveys suggest that output picked up further over the course of last month too. But the bigger picture remains... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Consumers continue to drive growth in Chile Last month’s slowdown in Chilean retail sales growth, coupled with a pick-up in the manufacturing sector, will help to ease mounting concerns about the unbalanced nature of recent growth. But in... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Trapped in the impossible trinity Policymakers in Latin America face an awkward choice. Either they must fight inflation with stronger currencies but at the expense of a squeeze on domestic manufacturers, or they can limit currency... 24th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Venezuelan economy still struggling to recover The Venezuelan economy finally returned to positive annual growth in Q4 last year. But while the recent rally in oil prices has eased the country’s dollar drought and should support GDP growth of 1%... 23rd February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Nudging up our forecasts for Mexican growth Mexico’s Q4 GDP data (released this afternoon) were stronger than expected. With renewed fiscal stimulus in the US likely to give a further boost to the recovery over the coming quarters, we are... 21st February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Chilean rates to rise further The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) hiked interest rates by 25bps to 3.5% last night. Growing economic imbalances and the threat of higher inflation mean that rates will rise further over the coming... 17th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian growth remains two-speed It is tempting to attribute the stagnation in Brazilian retail sales in December to recent efforts to curb credit growth but in truth the impact of these measures is unlikely to show up in the data... 15th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peruvian economy carrying plenty of momentum in 2011 Peru released monthly GDP data for December this afternoon which suggest that output increased by 9% last year. With the economy carrying plenty of momentum we are revising up our forecast and now... 15th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Peruvian rates edge higher, other measures to be deployed The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) hiked interest rates by 25bps to 3.5% last night. With the economy booming and inflation pressures building, further rate hikes will probably follow over the... 11th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil's cuts look big but off-balance sheet spending still key Last night’s announcement of budget cuts worth R$50bn (1.3% of GDP) should mean that Brazil’s government meets – or perhaps even betters – its ‘official’ target for the primary budget surplus of 3% of... 10th February 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Inflation still being driven by food and energy prices Data released this morning show that rising global commodity prices continue to be the main driver of inflation in both Brazil and Chile. But while these effects may fade over the course of 2011... 8th February 2011 · 1 min read
