Argentine lawmakers announced Monday the so-called Congressional ‘inflation index” for October which they estimated at 1.49% and is well over double the official Indec index released last week, 0.6%.
Argentina's official inflation was reported at 0.6% in October, breaking with 18 straight months of consumer prices reported at either 0.7 or 0.8%, the government reported on Friday.
Fitch Ratings agency warned Wednesday that Argentina’s new dollar controls and measures aimed at curbing capital flight could narrow Cristina Fernández political options range.Likewise, the agency stated in the communiqué that the “continuity of such unorthodox policies represent nothing but risk.”
The Uruguayan government will concentrate efforts in promoting economic growth, (debilitated in the second quarter), plus reducing domestic debt, even to the expense of “weakening the credibility of the inflation target”, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU, from The Economist magazine.
Economists covering Brazil cut their 2012 inflation forecast for the first time in eight weeks, cementing expectations that the central bank will continue to cut interest rates.
Inflation in China eased slightly in September but high prices, especially for food, remain a concern for the country's population. Consumer prices rose 6.1% last month, compared with the same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Chilean inflation rose 0.5% in September and the trade balance narrowed as falling copper output forced the first monthly year-on-year fall in exports in over two years.
Annual inflation in Brazil hit a six-year high in September, government data showed on Friday. The benchmark IPCA consumer price index rose 7.31% in the 12 months through September -- above the official target range ceiling of 6.5% for the sixth straight month and the highest 12-month rate since May 2005.
Argentina's construction activity rose 7.3% on the year in August, as builders and private investors continued to benefit from a booming economy and high inflation.
Uruguay’s Central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as policymakers focus on bringing inflation back to target in anticipation of possible impacts from a global slowdown.