Key Points —Decree 302/2026 applies a partial 0.5% Argentina fuel tax increase from May 1, while deferring the full backlog of 2024-2025 adjustments to June. —The government froze fuel taxes entirely in April after Brent surged past $120 due to the Hormuz crisis, causing a 23% pump price spike in March. —Repeated deferrals since 2024 […]

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Key Points —Mexico GDP Q1 2026 fell 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in Inegi’s flash estimate, reversing the 0.9% expansion in Q4 2025. —All three sectors contracted: agriculture -1.4%, industry -1.1%, services -0.6%. Year-on-year growth was just 0.2%. —The US economy grew 2% in the same quarter, widening the divergence between North America’s two largest economies. Deep Dive […]

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Key Points —Mexico’s mining and metallurgical production rose 5.5% month-on-month in February 2026, according to INEGI data, recovering from a 6.5% annual contraction in 2025. —Gold extraction fell 1.9% year-on-year and silver declined 0.7%, but copper and zinc posted gains amid strong global prices driven by the energy transition and war-related demand. —Mexico jumped from […]

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Key Points —The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago signed a joint statement backing Panama’s sovereignty against Chinese economic pressure. —China detained 91 Panama-flagged ships in March alone, up from 25 in January, after Panama revoked CK Hutchison’s canal port concession. —Beijing dismissed the statement as a smear, accusing Washington […]

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Key Points — Colombia’s Banco de la República (BanRep) is expected to deliver its third Colombia rate hike of 2026 on Thursday April 30, raising the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points from 11.25 percent to 11.75 percent. The cycle began in late January with a 100bp hike to 10.25 percent, followed by a […]

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Key Points — US oil cargoes transiting the Panama Canal exceeded 200,000 barrels per day in April 2026 — close to the highest level since July 2022, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler. The Panama Canal oil traffic surge reflects Asian refineries’ rapid pivot to American crude as Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of […]

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Key Points — The US Embassy in Bogotá Monday April 27 issued a travel advisory for Colombia’s southwestern departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, declaring them “unsafe for travelers” and prohibiting US government employees from any travel to the region. The Colombia Cauca attacks of the past 72 hours have killed at least 21 […]

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Key Points — Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Monday April 27 confirmed that delegations from 71 countries and 18 international organizations will attend Costa Rica’s May 8 presidential inauguration of Laura Fernández, succeeding Rodrigo Chaves. The Costa Rica inauguration takes place at the 27,000-capacity Estadio Nacional in San José at 11:00am local time (17:00 GMT). Fernández […]

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Key Points — Colombia received US$1,225.69 million in remittances during March 2026, an increase of 12.51 percent year-on-year, the Banco de la República reported Monday. The Q1 total reached US$3,346.96 million, up 6.9 percent compared to the same period of 2025. The Colombia remittances March print extends the structural growth pattern observed since 2023 — […]

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Key Points — Colombia agro exports rose from approximately 20 percent of total exports in 2022 to roughly 30 percent of US$50.2 billion in total exports in 2025, according to data from the National Statistics Department (DANE) compiled by La República for the 100-day Petro government economic balance. Over the same period, the share of […]

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Key Points — Banamex began a round of investor consultations Monday ahead of a new bond issuance, according to IFR reporting picked up by Reuters and confirmed by El Economista. The Banamex bond issuance roadshow is the first major debt-market move by Mexico’s second-largest retail bank since Citigroup began the formal separation from its US […]

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Key Points —Bolivia’s long-distance bus transport is operating at just 20% capacity because of diesel shortages, and the national drivers’ confederation has declared a state of emergency with a possible indefinite strike on the table. —YPFB president Claudia Cronenbold resigned on April 22 after less than a month in office, warning the state oil company […]

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