News of contraction

Virus plunges Brazil into recession with record 9.7% drop

01-09-2020 10:59 Brazil's economy, the biggest in the reion, contracted by a record 9.7% in the second quarter of 2020, plunging into recession.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina's economy tanked in April as virus hit home

30-06-2020 12:33 Construction was the worst hit industry, plummeting 86.4%, with hotels and restaurants not far behind (down 85.6%). Manufacturing, down 34.4%, and business, which lost 27%, were also hard hit.

BLOOMBERG

Economy plunges more than expected after lockdown

29-06-2020 23:10 Economic activity fell 17.5% in April from the previous month, and 26.4% from a year ago, the government reported Monday.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

In perennial economic crisis, Argentina faces worst year yet

23-06-2020 23:15 Some analysts are predicting a record contraction for Argentina's economy this year, with double-digit estimates of decline beginning to emerge.

BLOOMBERG

Bank of America says Latin America’s economy to crash 6.8% this year

15-05-2020 15:55 Bank of America Corp expects Latin America’s economy to slump by 6.8 percent this year and warned that plans to reopen businesses are unlikely to go smoothly as new cases continue to soar.

Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic to provoke worst-ever recession in Latin America

21-04-2020 15:21 UN body CEPAL says last time the region had seen "a contraction of a comparable magnitude, you need to go back to the Great Depression of 1930 or even further to 1914."

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

World Bank: Argentina's economy to shrink by 5.2% this year

13-04-2020 08:41 World Bank predicts Latin America shrinking by 4.6% this year, with growth only returning in 2021.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Levy Yeyati: 'We’re only just starting to perceive the costs of this crisis’

11-04-2020 08:43 Economist and professor Eduardo Levy Yeyati discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and gives his view on the government’s measures to tackle the spread of the virus in Argentina.

by Fermin Koop

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Fragile Latin America faces another lost decade – and maybe worse

07-04-2020 17:29 Like most of the world, the region is bracing for the deepest recession in its modern history. Bank of America expects a 4.4% slump in output this year as the coronavirus epidemic spreads.

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs warns Latin America's recession may be worse than 1980s

30-03-2020 19:45 Latin America's economies are deteriorating faster than ever before and are heading for their worst post-World War II contraction, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Bloomberg

Argentina's recession to deepen as virus foils Fernández's plans

26-03-2020 16:50 Economists forecast deepening of economic contraction for the third year running, highlighting just how difficult it will be for President Alberto Fernández to change things.

AGRO POLICY

Farmers unions call four-day strike after rise in soy duties

05-03-2020 21:56 Four producers' unions say they will halt grain and livestock trading for four days and go on strike, starting from Monday, in response to a rise in duties imposed by President Alberto Fernández.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Sustainability the focus as IMF mission team returns to Buenos Aires

02-03-2020 14:50 IMF mission team due in Buenos Aires for new talks with Economy Minister Martín Guzmán and other government officials.

by Luis Di Lorenzo

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina's shrank 2.1% in 2019, reports INDEC

21-02-2020 18:00 Argentina's recession-hit economy shrank by 2.1 percent in 2019, the INDEC national statistics bureau announced Friday.

NEW STUDY

Average wage fell 44.3% in dollar terms under Macri government, says study

20-02-2020 07:30 New report finds there has been a collapse of the average income in dollar terms since 2015, dropping from US$1,385 to just US$771 in four years.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Economic activity fell 1.9% in November

23-01-2020 17:57 Production of goods and services registered 1.7% decline on previous month, with a sharper drop year-on-year.

PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER

IMF chief says Fund remains committed to Argentina

10-12-2019 23:27 Kristalina Georgieva says International Monetary Fund remains committed to Argentina as President Alberto Fernández is sworn in as new leader.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation at 57.3%, economy to shrink 3.1% – IMF revises 2019 forecasts

15-10-2019 13:40 Fund confirms Argentina's economy shrank by 2.5% in 2018 and predicts inflation will hit 39.2% in 2020.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina's external debt equivalent to US$6,310 per person

09-10-2019 17:24 Foreign debt continues to grow, with the total figure now standing at close to US$284 billion, according to INDEC. That works out to around 378,604 pesos per person at the current exchange rate.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

IMF: Venezuelan economy to contract by further 35% this year

30-07-2019 12:36 The cumulative decline of the Venezuelan economy since 2013 will reach 65%, among the deepest five-year contractions around the world over the last half century, the International Monetary Fund has announced.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

Sharpest monthly drop in industrial activity since 2002 prompts concern

10-11-2018 10:34 INDEC registers ‘unexpected’ 11.5% contraction for September – the biggest fall seen in 16 years. Experts, who were expecting a single-digit decline, express concerns.

by Fermin Koop