Product shortages due to a truckers' strike lifted Brazil's inflation rate near the midpoint of the official target range in June, underlining the deep impact of the nationwide protests. Consumer prices tracked by the benchmark IPCA index rose 4.39% in the 12 months through June, government statistics agency IBGE said.
The US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate on Wednesday, the second increase of the year, and signaled it will be more aggressive about rate increases this year and next amid “strong” economic growth. The unanimous vote brings the federal funds rate to a range of 1.75 to 2%, but the quarterly economic forecasts show central bankers now expect the rate to end the year at 2.4% rather than the 2.1% projected in March.
Brazil's 12-month inflation accelerated in May from April amid strong fuel prices. Consumer prices rose 0.40% in the month, compared with an increase of 0.22% in April, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday. The consumer price index advanced 2.86% in May from a year earlier, up from April's 2.76% pace.
A few hours before the presidential election of May 20 in Venezuela, which is not recognized by dozens of countries in the region and is classified as fraud by the opposition of that country, official statements and messages favorable to the candidate and current president , Nicolás Maduro, have flooded the programs of the open media in Venezuela, according to a report by the Press Institute and Venezuela Society (IPYS).
The recent rise of the dollar in Argentina had some impact in Uruguay, where it has an accumulation of 7.4% in May. However, for the president of the Central Bank of Uruguay, Mario Bergara, the escalation only owes 20% to the exchange rate in Argentina and rather considers that Uruguay is accompanying global trends.
Argentina has much in common with yesterday's emerging markets, but little in common with today's
Brazil's inflation rate unexpectedly slowed in April and kept far below the official target, suggesting a recent period of currency weakness is unlikely to keep the central bank from cutting interest rates next week.
Argentina’s peso currency closed down 3.11% on Wednesday at an all-time low of 21.2 per U.S. dollar, even as the central bank continued selling dollars to try to halt the slide of the local currency, traders said. The currency’s sustained weakening showed a lack of investor confidence in Latin America’s third largest economy, which is blighted by one of the world’s highest inflation rates.
Argentina’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 27.25% on Tuesday, reiterating in a statement that high-frequency indicators suggested core inflation would remain high in April, but below March levels.
Brazil's monthly inflation rate slowed dramatically to a nine-month low in March, suggesting the central bank may have been too slow to signal another interest rate cut as the data continued to fall short of its inflation target.