LatinNews Daily - 19 May 2011

Argentina/Brazil: Brazil and Argentina announced on Monday that the two countries intended to stop using the dollar to settle payments for bilateral trade. Instead they will use the Real and the Argentine peso. Brazil's President Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed the agreement in Brazil's capital city Brasilia. According to Brazil's finance minister Guido Mantega, the new system will reduce the costs of intermediation, making trade easier for smaller companies of the two countries. Mantega said the agreement represents the first step toward a common currency for the regional trade group, Mercosur, which comprises Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.