| Top News:  The association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) enters provisionally into force on Friday May 1, after more than a quarter-century of negotiations, in what constitutes one of the world's most ambitious trade deals and the largest reciprocal opening ever finalised by the South American bloc. The final signing took place on January 17 in Asunción and, although final ratification by the European Court of Justice and subsequent approval by the European Parliament remain pending, provisional entry into force allows the immediate start of tariff reductions covering 95% of Mercosur products and 91% of EU products.
 The United States and Venezuela inaugurated on Thursday the first direct air connection between the two countries since 2019 and signed two new energy agreements, in a day the White House described as a substantive advance in the "economic revitalization" phase of the three-stage plan designed by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reorganize the bilateral relationship following the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by US troops on January 3.
 Brent crude touched $126.41 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Axios reported that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) was preparing a military plan contemplating a wave of "short and powerful" strikes on Iranian infrastructure to force Tehran back to the negotiating table. The price subsequently moderated to close near $114, a decline partly attributed to the expiration of the June futures contract, but the European benchmark has gained more than 60% since the start of the war against Iran on February 28.
 Brazil's nominal public sector deficit reached 9.41% of gross domestic product in the twelve months to March 2026, nearly one percentage point higher than the previous period, according to data published on Thursday by the Central Bank. The combined shortfall of all public administrations — central government, states, and municipalities — stood at 1.21 trillion reais, equivalent to around $244 billion, in one of the highest readings in recent years for Latin America's largest economy.
 The European Parliament approved on Thursday, by a wide majority, a resolution urging the Council of the European Union not to lift sanctions imposed on those responsible for human rights violations in Venezuela until the country adopts "significant measures toward a peaceful transition to democracy." The text, promoted by the European People's Party, gained 507 votes in favor, 31 against, and 35 abstentions, and was backed even by the Socialists and Democrats group despite internal divergences over the strategy toward the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
 The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) has begun systematically publishing economic indicators that had been held under wraps for at least a decade, in an institutional shift driven by the US military intervention that culminated on January 3 with the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro and by the subsequent reconfiguration of Venezuela's financial system under Washington's oversight. The updating of historical series on the central bank's website now makes it possible to learn for the first time in years that monthly inflation reached 32% in January, 14.6% in February and 13.1% in March, while the year-on-year figure stood at 649.5% at the end of the first quarter.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment