Uruguay has reduced its trade openness in recent years, which was boosted in 2020 by the irruption of the Covid-19, causing a substantial drop in external demand, which will explain much of the fall in Uruguay's GDP to 4.1% this year.
Uruguay | The Uruguayan financial system in times of pandemic. Trust, the greatest asset.
The Uruguayan Financial System is healthy despite having gone through the worst months in recent history in terms of activity and employment. The quick reaction of the CB with timely measures to avoid the rupture of the payment chain allowed it to overcome these difficulties and to maintain a comfortable capital surplus.
Uruguay | Promising changes in monetary policy will help lower inflation
The rate of inflation in Uruguay has dropped significantly in recent decades but still remains high. The Monetary Policy Committee announced that it will use the interest rate as an instrument of monetary policy and set it at 4.5% per year. It also ratified the new target range of 3% to 6% from September 2022.
Uruguay | The problem is not the level of public debt but the ability to pay
Although the capacity to pay, as expressed by the debt-to-GDP ratios, does not seem unsustainable, the government should promote fiscal consolidation in order to prevent the debt from continuing to increase after 2022, ensuring sustainability in the medium term and the preservation of the Investor Grade.
Uruguay | Labor Market: what we can expect (and do) once the coronavirus is gone
Unemployment in Uruguay reached 10.1% in March, reflecting the effect of measures implemented to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus, in a poorly performing labour market. We expect the unemployment rate to rise to 14.2% this quarter. What are the challenges for the labor market in the wake of the pandemic?
Uruguay will be affected by the combination of an intense, but transitory, negative shock of external demand and a brake on domestic activity resulting from voluntary confinement arranged to avoid massive contagion. In this context, activity will contract by 3.1% in 2020.