
China approved three genetically modified soybean types for consumption, including the RR2BT seed resistant to the imidazolinonas and the glufosinat-ammonium herbicides. The announcement was made following a meeting between Agriculture ministers from Argentina and China in Beijing.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's On Monday upgraded its credit outlook for the United States government to stable from negative, saying the chances of a downgrade of the country's rating is less than one in three.

Soybeans, electricity and beef figure as the main export items of landlocked Paraguay, during the first five months of the year. According to a release from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, exports at the end of May reached 4,12bn dollars compared to 2.96bn a year ago, which represents a 57.3% increase.

High production costs have orange growers in Brazil, the world's top orange juice exporter, bracing for a tough citrus season, despite last season's record harvest and high juice prices.

With inflation in May reaching 6.1%, the highest monthly rate in 17 years, mostly because of the shortage of basic foods, some states in Venezuela are already planning food rationing fearing the situation could worsen. The Venezuela's Central Bank released the figure on Friday.

Consumer prices edged up 0.3% in Brazil last month, fuelled by higher medicine, clothing and housing prices, with 12-month inflation at 6.5%, the state statistics agency said on Friday. The May increase, in line with market analysts' forecasts, was lower than the 0.5% recorded in April and the lowest since June 2012.

Leaving behind an atmosphere of mistrust, China and Mexico agreed this week to upgrade bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic partnership, and thus opening broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

European authorities are to propose bringing control of the inter-bank lending rate, Libor, under the supervision of a Paris-based regulator. The draft regulation proposes moving oversight of the scandal-hit benchmark from London to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Brazil’s credit rating outlook was cut to negative by Standard & Poor’s saying sluggish economic growth and an expansionary fiscal policy could lead to higher government debt levels. Reacting to the announcement a spokesperson from the Finance ministry said “there is no change in economic policy and the environment is conducive to investment”.

Uruguay announced on Thursday new measures to discourage short term speculative capital inflows that have appreciated the Peso, eroded the country’s international competitiveness, made imports cheaper than domestic production and threaten an already stubborn inflation.