15 September 2010

ARGENTINA/ BRASIL: Weak Peso, Strong Real Fanning Inflation.

REUTERS/  /   A Goldman Sachs economist says the peso’s slide to a record low against Brasil's real is boosting exports of cars and wheat there and stoking an inflation that may hit at least  25% this year.
     Argentina's GDP may hit 9.5 % this year, its fastest pace since 1992, as the weaker peso helps boost exports but also feed the highest inflation in the world after Venezuela.
    Economist Alberto Ramos warns: “The economy is growing on steroids, generating a lot of inflation. This is not a sustainable cycle. They want to stimulate net exports, not through genuine productivity gains, but by giving them a competitive exchange rate.” Most economists forecast that Argentina’s peso will fall to 4.10 per dollar by the end of the year, from 3.9513 today.