MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unasur central bankers anticipate moderation in the region’s growth

The meeting was held at Chile’s Central Bank

Unasur (Union of South American Nations) central bankers meeting on Friday to discuss global financial turbulence saw heightened risks and a moderation in the region's growth, they said in a joint statement published by Chile's central bank.

Central bank presidents from Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as from Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Venezuela addressed monetary and exchange rate policies in Santiago de Chile.

The meeting was previously unannounced.

“The region's economies have shown a favourable evolution since the previous meeting, though a moderation in expansion has been noted, in line with a loss of dynamism in the international economy,” the statement said.

“However, high commodity prices have continued, which have favourably impacted terms of trade that, along with capital inflows, have kept pressure on the appreciation of currencies in the region.”

The statement said price pressures have generally moderated in the region, compared to the previous shock of 2007/08, but remain significant.

The significance of ‘macro-prudential’ instruments was underlined: “Even when financial crises have had effects in the region, those effects have been well managed through macro-prudential and regulatory mechanisms existent to mitigate its impact”.

The central bank presidents agreed to meet again in the first half of 2012 in Buenos Aires, the statement added.