Unemployment in Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile was 2.6% in the three months period, February, March, April, compared to a national average of 7.6%, according to the latest release from the Statistics Office.
Further sharp price hikes and continued volatility in markets for food supplies appear to be likely for the next few seasons, according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the run-up to a summit on the global food crisis which is being held in Rome early next month.
Although Argentine official inflation statistics are considered non reliable and there's no national consumers price index, some provinces, --outside the realm of the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner administration--, have kept local statistics branches operational and their numbers are considered a valid reference.
Argentine former Economy minister Roberto Lavagna said that the current conflict of the government with the farmers helps to over shadow other critical issues for Argentine consumers such as inflation.
Soybean futures advanced in Chicago as Argentina's farmers decided to stop selling crops and livestock until next week in the third protest in two months over export taxes.
The United States economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2008 having expanded 0.9% according to the latest data from the Commerce Department.
Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin will leave at the end of August and return to teaching at Columbia University, the United States central bank announced Wednesday.
After having formally launched last Friday the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, the region in on track to creating a Central Bank and a common currency announced this week Brazilian president Lula da Silva.
Paraguay expects to see its share of the energy business with Brazil to increase to at least two billion US dollars said an energy expert and advisor to Paraguayan president elect Fernando Lugo.
Argentina's trade surplus narrowed 30% in April from a year earlier to a lower-than-expected 864 million US dollars as surging imports offset high commodities export prices, according to official data from the Argentine government.