
Brazil’s central bank has denied any planning is underway to create a monetary union with Argentina, after a spokesman for the government in Buenos Aires said on Thursday it was the case.

The presidents of Argentina and Brazil said on Thursday that an agreement is imminent on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina's Mauricio Macri expressed confidence that the deal would soon be signed as they met in Buenos Aires for talks.

The Argentine Chess Federation’s attempt to get legal recognition of their secret tournaments, held in the Falklands, have been denied. This was expressed in a statement from FIDE, the World Chess Federation, which also urged all federations to refrain from using chess tournaments for political purposes.

The Argentine Supreme Court ruled against a legal claim by mining companies Barrick Gold Corp and Minera Argentina Gold arguing that Argentina's Glacier Law was unconstitutional. The decision was praised by environmentalists and marked a setback for one of the world's biggest gold miners.

The conservative presidents of Brazil and Argentina reiterated their rejection of Venezuela's socialist government Thursday as the far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro made a state visit to Buenos Aires.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, admitted on Wednesday that it had underestimated the “incredibly complicated situation” of the Argentine economy and also that taming inflation had taken much longer than originally expected.

Brazil and Argentina have started discussing a reduction in the common external tariff (TEC) of the Mercosur trade block, sources in both governments revealed on Wednesday, as their market-friendly presidents look to boost economic growth.

The construction industry in Argentina contracted 7.5% last April, the eighth consecutive month, with an overall drop of 10.3% in the first four months of the year. According to the country's stats office Indec, the Indicator of Construction Activity, during April fell 0.3% from March.

Argentina’s industrial output fell 8.8% in April compared with the same month a year ago, official data showed on Wednesday, marking 12 straight months of production losses as the economy struggles with recession and rapidly-rising consumer prices.

Uruguay is experiencing, in recent months, a marked drop in investment and the generation of employment. Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori admitted Wednesday the fall of public accounts, with an annualized fiscal deficit in April that was 4.8% of GDP, and opted to provide greater incentives to investors and entrepreneurs. The Uruguayan press accuses the government of betting on the hope that the results will begin to be felt in the second half of the year, as it was heard a while ago in Argentina under the administration of President Mauricio Macri.