Ecuador’s spiralling violence, diverging inflation story

The dramatic escalation of violence in Ecuador this week is primarily a social and security problem, but there will be economic implications too. Activity is likely to be disrupted and the government's budget balance is likely to come under pressure, making the job of stabilising the country’s strained public finances even harder. Meanwhile, the raft of inflation data this week points to a diverging inflation story across the region – a trend we expect to continue over the course of this year.