Argentina's monthly inflation rate is expected to slow to 7.0% in June, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll, after hitting 7.8% in May, as the government battles to control spiraling prices ahead of elections in October, Reuters reported. The poll of 23 analysts measures inflation by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with estimates ranging from 6.6% to 7.8%.
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Brazil's annual inflation in June fell to its lowest level since September 2020, data from statistics agency IBGE showed on Tuesday, renewing bets that an interest rate cut is around the corner as consumer prices continue to trend down, Reuters reported. Annual inflation in Latin America's largest economy slowed to 3.16% in June from 3.94% in May, in line with a market consensus of 3.17%. Prices fell 0.08% on a month-on-month basis, the first deflation registered since September of last year.
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President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government will not wait for Brazil's Congress to finish voting on a tax reform related to consumption before submitting its proposal for an income tax reform, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday, Reuters reported. Haddad said in an interview with podcast "O Assunto" that the planned change in income tax, a long-standing agenda item for Lula's leftist Workers' Party, represents a crucial element of the government's plans to zero its primary budget deficit next year.
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A U.S. court of appeals on Friday rejected Venezuela's bid to prevent six companies from joining a proposed court auction of shares in a Citgo Petroleum parent to enforce judgments for past expropriation of assets, Reuters reported. The decision allows the six to move ahead with their about $3 billion in combined claims against Venezuela state oil firm PDVSA in a Delaware federal court. That court is in the initial steps of preparing an auction as soon as September.
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Brazil's currency will likely enjoy some support in the near term from faster economic growth and progress on reforms, despite the prospect of less favorable interest rate spreads ahead, a Reuters poll showed, Reuters reported. The real appreciated last month to its firmest level in a year after several forecasts were improved and key fiscal changes proposed by the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made headway in congress. The real is seen gaining a further 0.6% in three months to 4.81 per U.S.

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A pair of central bank decisions next week will shape the outlook for a wobbly global economy that the World Bank warns in a downbeat new assessment is battling stubbornly high inflation amid the pandemic’s aftermath and the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported. The gloomy forecast arrives days after one threat to global growth was eliminated when President Biden signed legislation Saturday to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avert a potentially catastrophic government default.

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Argentina’s central bank expects to hold its benchmark interest rate at 97% through the August primary elections as officials estimate monthly inflation slowed in June, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg News reported. Central bank officials expect monthly price increases slowed to less than 7% last month, justifying the rate hike pause, according to the people, who asked not to be named to discuss upcoming policy decisions.

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It’s a World of Inflation

From Melbourne to Manchester to Miami, people are struggling under the weight of hefty price increases for the things they buy each day, the New York Times reported. The worst spike in inflation that many advanced economies have seen in decades underscores the global forces driving prices higher, namely the disruptions set in motion by the coronavirus pandemic. The stakes are high for policymakers around the world, who are facing similar problems.

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Chile's economic activity index fell for the fourth consecutive month in May, the central bank said on Monday, underscoring the economic headwinds faced by the world's largest producer of copper amid high interest rates, Reuters reported. The IMACEC index, a close proxy of gross domestic product (GDP), dropped 2% in May from the same month last year, while slipping 0.5% when compared with the previous month. "The annual change in the IMACEC index was explained by a drop in mining and, to a lesser extent, in trade," the central bank said in a statement.
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Private economists in Brazil anticipate deeper monetary easing this year and improved inflation prospects until 2026 following the government's decision to maintain the country's inflation goal at 3%, a weekly central bank poll showed on Monday, Reuters reported. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has consistently blasted the country's central bank for keeping interest rates at a cycle-high of 13.75% even as inflation slows. During the first months of his administration, he also criticized inflation targets as too low, arguing that they led to an overly restrictive monetary policy.
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