Shipping Concerns, Waiting for Recovery, Inflation Woes: Eco Day

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Happy Friday, Americas. Here’s the latest news and analysis from Bloomberg Economics to take you through to the weekend:

• A Covid outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares
  • The delta variant’s blow to China’s economy deepened in the past two weeks, according to high-frequency data tracked by Bloomberg Economics.
  • The effects of flooding and delta also are starting to show up in China’s prices
• Rising Covid-19 cases and a slow pace of vaccinations will likely prolong the labor-market crisis in Southeast Asia, according to the International Labour Organization
• It seems like Japan’s big recovery is always a quarter away -- a dynamic that’s playing out again ahead of Monday’s GDP release
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call a snap election this weekend, seeking to capitalize on polls showing his Liberal Party with a large enough lead to retake a majority in Canada’s legislature
• Low U.S. government bond yields exaggerate the fiscal space available for deficit spending because Federal Reserve purchases are distorting market prices, the Institute of International Finance said
• Mexico’s central bank needs to be cautious on inflation given how unpredictable the Covid-19 crisis has been, Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said after Banxico raised borrowing costs for a second straight meeting
• Brazilian policy makers will do whatever it takes to bring inflation expectations back to target, central bank President Roberto Campos Neto said
• Peru raised its key interest rate for the first time in five years after inflation accelerated faster than expected and political turmoil sank the currency
• Representatives of Venezuela’s government and opposition parties are expected to sign an agreement that will kick off months of wide-ranging negotiations aimed at ending a five-year political impasse and addressing the nation’s economic collapse

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