United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday he had a productive working dinner the previous night in Beijing, kicking off a day of talks aimed at resolving the bitter trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.
Brazil's financial market has cut its forecast of the country's inflation rate from 3.94 to 3.87 percent for 2019 and kept the rate at 4% for 2020, the Central Bank of Brazil reported. According to the Focus survey conducted by the bank among Brazil's main financial institutions, the forecasts are within the official target of 4.25 percent, with a tolerance margin between 2.75 percent and 5.75 percent.
The United States consumer prices were unchanged in November, held back by a sharp decline in the price of gasoline, but underlying inflation pressures remained firm amid rising rents and healthcare costs. The strength in underlying inflation reported by the Labor Department on Wednesday supports views that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its Dec. 18-19 policy meeting. The U.S. central bank has hiked rates three times this year.
The Brazilian government on Thursday admitted for the first time this year that economic growth in 2018 will be below the original target of 3% projected in January. The downgrade followed the release of economic indicators showing a slower than expected recovery.