This chart maps the progress of the US Dollar versus the six main traded currencies in LatAm over the last three months.
Chile Peso (CLP) and Brazil's Real (BRL) have both lost about 7% of value against the greenback in the quarter and as they are both headline-type currencies (Brazil the miracle and Chile the closest thing LatAm has to a serious country) they give the impression that the dollar has been all-conquering down this neck of the woods, too.
But it ain't necessarily so, Joe. Argentina's massively massaged Peso (ARS) has basically held its own vs USD. Meanwhile, three openly traded currencies down this way, namely Mexico's Peso (MXN), Peru's Nuevo Sol (PEN) and Colombia's Peso (COP) have all beaten out the dollar by a couple of percentage points.
Why is this so? My best guess is that LatAm isn't faking some sort of economic recovery. It's actually happening down here.
But it ain't necessarily so, Joe. Argentina's massively massaged Peso (ARS) has basically held its own vs USD. Meanwhile, three openly traded currencies down this way, namely Mexico's Peso (MXN), Peru's Nuevo Sol (PEN) and Colombia's Peso (COP) have all beaten out the dollar by a couple of percentage points.
Why is this so? My best guess is that LatAm isn't faking some sort of economic recovery. It's actually happening down here.