Economy

BMI View: Foreign reserves finished 2011 at US$2.96bn, slightly up from 2010 levels, thanks to stronger energy prices and solid investment from China. However, by our calculations... 2012-02-03

BMI View: Venezuela's foreign reserves levels finished 2011 at US$27bn, a 7% fall from 2010 levels, despite oil prices being close to record highs. Not only was this the lowest nominal... 2012-02-03

BMI View: Colombia's unemployment rate came in at 9.8% in December 2011, representing a slight increase from the previous month and breaking a steady downtrend in place since July 2011.... 2012-02-03

BMI View: Real GDP growth remained strong in Q311, coming in at 5.1%, broadly in line with our end-2011 estimate of 4.5%. However, our concerns over the country's business environment... 2012-02-03

BMI View: Preliminary figures released by the Banco Central de Reserva de Venezuela put inflation at 27.6% for 2011, slightly lower than our 29% estimate. We forecast inflation to remain... 2012-01-06

BMI View: Colombia's Q311 real GDP data, released in late December, exceeded expectations with growth coming in at 7.7% y-o-y. According to the central bank, domestic demand continues... 2012-01-06

BMI View: Inflation came in at 4.7% in 2011 in Peru according to recently released data by the country's central bank, which was higher than our 3.3% estimate for 2011. Inflation came... 2012-01-06

BMI View: Inflation came in at 5.53% y-o-y in November in Ecuador which raises upside risks to our 4.5% year-end estimation. We believe inflation has been rising in Ecuador in part... 2012-01-06

BMI View: Consumer price inflation in Bolivia remained elevated in November 2011, coming in at 8.3% y-o-y. Though this was the lowest reading since January 2011, inflation remains relatively... 2012-01-06

BMI View: Despite Bolivian President Evo Morales's domestic political struggles during 2011, his foreign policy has been gaining traction in recent months. Indeed, we believe the country's... 2011-12-28