
Former Economy minister Roberto Lavagna said that it will take Argentina “at least three years” to liberate the country from the ‘dollar clamp’ if as of this month it was decided to execute a policy to end restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency.

Argentina is expected to trim the quantity of 2012/2013 wheat destined for overseas shipment to 4.5 million tons from a previous 6 million due to a smaller than forecast harvest, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.

Argentine nationalized oil company YPF is in advanced discussions with potential partners on the development of its shale assets, the company's chief executive said. YPF could complete a deal with Bridas Energy Holdings Ltd. before the end of the year, while an agreement with US oil major Chevron Corp. will likely close in the first quarter of 2013, he said, adding that the deals would likely be similar in size.

The US announced that the labour market advanced sharply last month and its jobless rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest level in nearly four years. Washington said that late October's devastating super-storm Sandy had little effect on hiring, as employers unexpectedly added 146.000 new jobs in November, which was substantially more than economists had predicted.

The incorporation of Bolivia to Mercosur must not become a “straight jacket” that leaves the country with no margin to negotiate trade agreements with other regions, said the private business organization, Bolivia Foreign Trade Institution, IBCE

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 211 points in November 2012, down 3 points (1.5%) from October and the lowest since June 2012. Except for dairy, international prices of all the commodity groups included in the Index fell in November, with sugar undergoing the sharpest dip, followed by oils and cereals. The decline puts the November index value nearly 3% below one year ago.

The Bank of England has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus program, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system.

Brazil held forecasts for a record 2012/2013 soybean crop with the latest estimate from Conab, the Brazilian crop bureau, at 82.6m tons, towards the top of the range of 80.1m-83m tons previously anticipated and representing a jump of more than 20% year on year.

The Brazilian central bank indicated it will keep interest rates at their current level for an extended period given favourable signs for the inflation outlook.

The European Central Bank on Thursday opened the door to a rate cut next year, after slashing its economic growth projections for the 17-member Euro- zone.