Latin America Economics Update Lat Am’s recovery falling behind other EMs The recent batch of GDP figures showed that growth in Latin America as a whole picked up in Q3, but the region’s recovery so far has been one of the weakest in the emerging world. And growth prospects... 13th December 2021 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: chunky rate hikes to go on despite recession Brazil’s central bank gave a clear steer that, even though the economy entered recession in Q3 and shows little sign of growth in Q4, it will follow the 150bp hike in the Selic rate yesterday (to 9.25... 9th December 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Red-hot Chile set to cool Chile’s economy has been operating above potential for several months but there are signs that activity is starting to cool. And policy tightening, falls in copper prices and the possibility of more... 1st December 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Unpacking the oddities in Mexican GDP The final estimate of Mexican Q3 GDP data was revised down to a 0.4% q/q fall (original -0.2% q/q), but the breakdown showed the contraction was almost entirely due to an outsourcing law that hit... 25th November 2021 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update A look ahead to Chile’s election The frontrunners in Sunday’s presidential election in Chile, Gabriel Boric and José Antonio Kast, hold different views on the desired size of the state in the economy, but both advocate relatively... 18th November 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update A fresh look at fiscal positions in Latin America Fiscal balances have generally improved across Latin America this year (barring Chile and Colombia) but we think that governments in most major economies will struggle to implement the substantial... 17th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Higher rates quickly adding to Brazil’s fiscal challenge By next year, Brazil’s public sector interest payments could be almost twice as large (at ~8% of GDP) as they were in 2020, making the challenge of stabilising the public debt-to-GDP ratio all the... 15th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Banxico sticking to gradual pace of tightening The Mexican central bank’s 25bp rate hike, to 5.00%, and the accompanying statement showed little sign that policymakers are likely to follow their peers in Latin America by upping the pace of... 12th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Argentina’s election: approaching a fork in the road The ruling Frente de Todos (FdT) coalition is likely to lose some of its power in congress in Argentina’s midterm elections on Sunday. Policymaking could subsequently go in one of two ways. Our... 10th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Latin America Economics Update We expect the Brazilian real to remain under pressure We think that the Brazilian real will weaken a bit further against the US dollar over the next year, as fiscal risks and deteriorating terms of trade continue to weigh on the currency. In view of the... 4th November 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Does Brazil’s inverted yield curve point to a recession? Brazil’s inverted yield curve has raised concerns that the economy may be on the brink of a recession, but it doesn’t have a particularly good track record as a leading indicator for economic... 4th November 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update A closer look at the latest surveys The latest survey data suggest that GDP growth held up relatively well in Brazil and picked up slightly in Mexico in Q4. In the meantime, Chile’s red-hot recovery is continuing which will keep the... 3rd November 2021 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Tighter financial conditions to hold back recoveries Financial conditions in Latin America have tightened sharply this year, most notably in Brazil and Chile, on the back of aggressive monetary tightening and growing political and/or fiscal risks. With... 28th October 2021 · 2 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: fiscal risks to push Selic rate into double digits The Brazilian central bank’s decision to up the pace of tightening to a 150bp rate hike (which took the Selic rate to 7.75%) was a clear response to concerns about a looser fiscal stance. With fiscal... 28th October 2021 · 3 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Brazil: signs of stagflation The multitude of supply shocks hitting Brazil’s economy are likely to keep inflation at 7-10% well into next year and cause the pace of recovery to slow to a crawl in the next few quarters. Overall... 14th October 2021 · 4 mins read
Latin America Economics Update Chile: front-loaded tightening cycle has further to run The surprisingly large 125bp rate hike delivered by Chile’s central bank yesterday, to 2.75%, suggests that it will continue to front-load its tightening cycle to clamp down on high inflation. We now... 14th October 2021 · 3 mins read
