Open unemployment at the end of the third quarter was 14.3%, a little more than one percentage point lower than in May, and 4.5 points lower than a year earlier. This measurement was made with a new methodology introduced by Indec in the third quarter. Had the old methodology been used, the decline over the 12 months to October would have been 3.5 points.
ARGENTINA | IMF review (and disbursement) delayed. The conclusion of the IMF's review of the US$12.5bn agreement with Argentina, which the government had expected to clear the way for the disbursement of US$330m before Christmas, has been delayed -- reportedly because the Fund wants faster movement towards an agreement with Argentina's bondholders on a restructuring deal.
President Néstor Kirchner responded stating, `The international organisations are not going to twist my arm.' The IMF has suggested that there is no delay — just a review that has not been finalised.
BRAZIL | Bank continues with small rate reductions. The central bank last week reduced the benchmark interest rate by one percentage point, to 16.5%. This is its lowest point since April 2001, but business associations and unions have already complained that it is not sufficient to pull up Brazil's flagging growth rate. The bank's aim has been to lower inflation to 8.5%, give or take two points. By end-November it had reached 8.73%, which suggests that by year-end it will be in the upper half of the target band.
One good-news item on the growth front is that the grains harvest next year is expected to total 130.9m tonnes, or 7% more than this year's record result. The soya crop is estimated at 58.6mt, which will allow Brazil to overtake the US as the leader in the full soya cycle (beans, meal and oil).
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