Brazil’s economic activity barely grew on the month in November as central bankers try to tame consumer demand by raising interest rates, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank’s economic activity index, a proxy for gross domestic product, ticked up 0.1% from the month prior, slightly above the forecast for no change from economists in a Bloomberg survey. From a year before, the gauge grew 4.11%, according to a report published Thursday. The bank also revised October’s monthly growth to 0.09% from 0.14% before.

Argentina’s central bank said payment intermediaries will have to enable debit card transactions in US currency by Feb. 28, marking a key step in President Javier Milei’s pledge to dollarize the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The bank also developed a program to allow people to make installed payments in either dollars or pesos. The move aims to “bolster currency competition in order to allow people and businesses to use the currency they wish in their daily transactions,” according to a central bank statement on Thursday.

Brazilian airline Gol released a revised five-year strategic plan on Wednesday as it prepares to exit chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, saying that the new forecasts would serve as a base for its reorganization, Reuters reported. Gol said in a securities filing that it expects to emerge from chapter 11 in May, and sees its net leverage "substantially improving" going forward as it rebuilds its network and returns to "normal levels" of core earnings by next year.

Argentina's central bank will slow the rate of the local peso's devaluation, it said on Tuesday, after new data showed annual inflation slowing in December and as the central bank sees continued progress on inflation, Reuters reported. Beginning in February, the rate, known as the crawling peg, will slow to 1% per month from a prior rate of 2% due to "the consolidation observed in the inflationary trajectory during the last few months, and in the expectations of a decrease in inflation," the central bank said in a statement.

Argentina paid international bondholders before a Thursday deadline, marking another step in President Javier Milei’s efforts to restore investors’ confidence in the serial defaulter, Bloomberg News reported. The government had some $4 billion worth of debt, between principal and interest payments, due on a slate of hard-currency notes. The payment included some $2.65 billion of credits issued under New York law in a 2020 restructuring. Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno said on a post on X Thursday morning that the government made its debt payments, without giving further details.

Chile’s consumer prices fell last month for the first time since June, giving the central bank only limited relief as it monitors inflationary threats including higher electricity tariffs and a weak currency, Bloomberg News reported. Prices fell 0.2% in December, below all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of analysts that had a median estimate of no change. Annual inflation accelerated to 4.5%, the national statistics institute reported on Wednesday. Central bankers led by Rosanna Costa have cut borrowing costs by 6.25 percentage points since mid-2023 to the current level of 5%.

Brazil’s industrial output fell for the second straight month, signaling that tight financial conditions are taking toll on the credit-dependent sector as the central bank prepares to take interest rates even higher, Bloomberg News reported. Production declined 0.6% in November from the month prior, just less than the median estimate of a 0.7% drop from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Industry gained 1.7% from a year earlier, the national statistics agency reported Wednesday. Read more.

Brazil's government said on Friday it has reached deals with two of the country's largest airlines, Gol and Azul, to settle some pending tax obligations totaling 7.5 billion reais ($1.22 billion), Reuters reported. The government has provided the carriers with significant discounts and allowed them to make installment payments. The deal may provide financial relief to the companies. Latin American airlines have been facing financial hurdles in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and were forced to restructure obligations as they struggle with high debt loads.

Argentina's state airline, Aerolineas Argentinas, is slimming down for a potential sale, shedding 13% of its staff, cutting money-losing domestic routes and even removing snacks formerly available to passengers, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters. The cutbacks, many of whose details were previously unreported, are part of a backdoor attempt to trim the airline's burden on the state and lure private investment. The drive is progressing, even though libertarian President Javier Milei's plans to privatize the firm have generated pushback.

Argentina unveiled a $1 billion repurchase agreement with five international lenders that will help replenish foreign reserves at its central bank, a key victory for President Javier Milei as he works to stabilize South America’s second-largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. The deal, commonly known as a repo, will be in place for two years and four months, the monetary authority said Friday in a statement, without naming the banks. Citigroup Inc. participated in the repo, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.