
The Uruguayan government has signed offshore exploration and production deals with British oil firms BG Group, BP plc, Ireland’s Tullow Oil and France's Total. The companies awarded 30-year concession contracts in April for the eight oil blocks - three each for BG and BP and one each for Tullow and Total - have committed to investing a total of roughly 1.56 billion dollars.

Argentina’s intention of having the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty issue included in the agenda of the Americas Defense ministers’ conference currently taking place in Uruguay was rejected, mainly because of the positions from the US, Canada and several Caribbean states.

Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota said on Friday that Paraguay could resume membership of Mercosur and Unasur without the need to wait for presidential elections next April 2013 as long as “full compliance with democracy” can be verified.

United States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta starts on Friday a week-long trip to Peru and Uruguay where he will attend the Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.

The Uruguayan government announced the creation of an inter-ministerial task force to consider a proposal to “resume air connectivity” of the country following on a proposal from Argentine businessman Juan Carlos Lopez Mena who owns sea, river and air link companies between Argentina and Uruguay.

Uruguay’s consumer prices soared 1.21% in September over August totalling 6.67% in nine months and 8.64% in the last twelve months, above the 7.88% at the end of August.

Spanish airline Cosmo which purchased in an auction in Montevideo seven aircraft from Uruguay’s liquidated flag-carrier Pluna said they will be used “to expand the charter flight business in Central and Eastern Europe”, according to an official company communiqué released by the Spanish government news agency EFE.

Out of the blue a Spanish-based air charter company, Cosmo, and seven minutes after the auction had started purchased the seven Bombardier aircraft from Uruguay’s defunct flag carrier Pluna for the base price of 137 million dollars.

The latest Uruguayan central bank decision to further hike interest rates is “unlikely to do much to tackle stubbornly high inflation” and contrary to this could end acting as a magnet for foreign capital inflow, “aggravating the very problem it seeks to address”, says Michael Henderson from Capital Economics.

Uruguay's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 9% on Friday in a bid to cool inflation expectations. The bank had held the rate steady at its last two monthly monetary policy meetings.