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Bloomberg Línea — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have a serious impact on the exports of several Latin American countries, including Ecuador and Guatemala, while countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela will likely see a fall in revenues due to fewer Russian tourists visiting. Russian tourists were the second most numerous nationality among visitors to the Dominican Republic in 2021.
On the region’s stock markets, Peru’s S&P BVL/Peru (SPBLPGPT) index closed with a gain of 2.93%, the strongest performance among Latin America’s markets on Friday, while Mexico’s S&P BMV/IPC index (MEXBOL) gained 2.14% and Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) 1.39%.
Following is a roundup of Friday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- The increase in prices due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will raise the value of Argentina’s agricultural exports in the current 2021-2022 season from $39.8 billion last week to an estimated $41.6 billion.
- In the midst of the conflict, the Ukrainian embassy in the country demanded on Friday that Argentina implement economic sanctions against Russia, following that country’s invasion of Ukrainian territory.
- YPF Luz, the renewable energy unit of the Argentine state-owned energy company, has opened its third wind farm.
Brazil:
- After embracing Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-establishment stance just four years ago, investors are now warming to a very familiar face in Brazilian politics: Lula. Money managers are piling into the nation’s assets, sending the currency to the highest level since July and fueling a world-beating rally in stocks after a horrible year for both. The inflows come on the back of aggressive interest rate hikes that have sent yields soaring and even as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the left-wing leader who ran he country two decades ago, mounts a comeback.
Chile:
- Codelco, the world’s largest copper supplier, posted an increase in fourth quarter sales as higher copper prices offset lower production. Although the Chilean state-owned company did not provide a quarterly breakdown, according to annual and previously reported results, sales increased to just over $6 billion.
- High oil prices will be the main concern for the Chilean economy, according to analysts consulted by Bloomberg Línea.
Colombia:
- The census of the number of Colombians in Ukraine has been updated and there are reportedly 188 citizens, plus 31 family members, for a total of 219 people in that country, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- The government has ordered that the vaccination card requirement in Colombia be maintained for the time being.
Dominican Republic:
- Russia, which this week launched a military incursion in Ukraine, was the second largest source of tourists to the Dominican Republic in 2021. Of 3.6 million tourists who visited the country, 5% corresponded to Russian visitors, a total of 183,700 arrivals.
Ecuador:
- Ecuador has begun to quantify the losses that the conflict in Ukraine will mean for it, and calculates that it will lose $2.4 million per day due to the impossibility of exporting goods to that country.
- Seeing opportunity in a crisis is what Ecuador could do with the oil surpluses it is receiving today, with a barrel of WTI oil close to $100 due to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Ideally, according to experts, the government should use the extra revenues to take on less debt and thus reduce this year’s fiscal deficit.
El Salvador:
- Bitcoin is emerging as a competitor to traditional payment systems in the country. Legal tender in El Salvador since September 2021, the cryptocurrency has free ground to compete with banking, but at the close of the year, reviewing the results obtained, banks have won the first round.
Guatemala:
- Guatemala’s international trade with Russia and Ukraine will be interrupted in the short term due to the conflict, and experts are advising the government adopt measures such as diversifying markets, seeking other suppliers of raw materials and reconfiguring local production.
Mexico:
- State-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) began 2022 with a slight increase in crude oil production. During January, the Mexican company reported total production with partners of 1.78 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensates, a monthly uptick of 0.56%, or 10,000 barrels more per day compared to December 2021.
- Mexico will send a military airplane to Romania to repatriate families from Ukraine and Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said at the U.N. Security Council that Mexico will support the cessation of hostilities and a political solution to the conflict.
- Media giant Televisa will take its startup investment model to the U.S. through advertising.
