• Exports of mined metals in the Dominican Republic reached US$1.3Bn as of August 2020, according to data released by the Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo).
• It says that the FOB value of the gold product, including platinum, raw, semi-worked, or powder gold was US$1.1 for a growth of 12%; Ferroalloys reached US$223.1Mn, or 8% lower, compared to the period January-August 2019.
• “Copper ores and their concentrates between January-August 2020 registered a negative figure of US$10.6Mn, or 48% less than last year in the same period.” Adoexpo data indicate that zinc ores and their concentrates reached US$1.9Mn, down 79% compared to January-August 2019.

(Source: Dominican Today)

• The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said forecasts for the global economy were “somewhat less dire” as wealthy countries and China rebounded more quickly than expected from coronavirus lockdowns but warned that the outlook was worsening for many emerging markets.
• The IMF forecast a 2020 global contraction of 4.4% in its latest World Economic Outlook, an improvement over a 5.2% contraction predicted in June when business closures reached their peak. It is still the worst economic crisis since the 1930s Great Depression, the Fund said.
• The global economy will return to growth of 5.2% in 2021, the IMF said, but the rebound will be slightly weaker than forecast in June, partly due to the extreme difficulties for many emerging markets and slowing reopening momentum as the virus continues to spread.

(Source: Reuters)

• China is cementing its status as the world’s dominant trading nation, confounding warnings that a once in a century pandemic combined with simmering tensions with the U.S. would derail that status.
• Surging global demand for everything from hazmat suits to work-from-home technology has allowed China, which contained the virus months ago, to capture record market share of global exports by quickly reopening its factories while the rest of the world grappled with lockdowns. It’s a striking reversal from the first two months of the year when China’s exports contracted by 17.1%.
• It’s also an outcome that underscores the nation’s enduring role in manufacturing even amid simmering tensions with the U.S. that have fueled talk of shifting supply chains. For all the tariffs levied by the Trump administration, monthly sales to the U.S. remain robust.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Despite the misfortune of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Jamaica is scaling up its expenditure budget for 2020/21 by $15.7 billion.
• Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr. Nigel Clarke yesterday made the announcement while opening debate on the second supplementary estimates in the House of Representatives, which is being held temporarily at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
• The budget, which was trimmed from the original $853.5 billion to $838.7 billion following the first supplementary estimate, now stands at $853.7 billion.
• He explained that it is for this reason the Government is also increasing the capital expenditure component of the budget by $6 billion, of which $4.6 billion will go towards the South Coast Highway Improvement Project.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• The development minerals sector has received another boost from the European Union (EU)-funded Development Minerals Programme with the handover of a Training Reference Resource, produced for the industry.
• The training resource document is designed to boost the capacity of the sector to establish growth and build resilience into operations.
• There are special sections for risk management and (COVID-19) recovery and resilience.
• Rainford said the Ministry recommends the training resource to investors in the industry, and that they should fully utilize it for growth.

(Source: JIS)

• The International Monetary Fund on Monday revised up its 2020 economic outlook for Brazil, but warned that risks remain “exceptionally high and multifaceted,” and government debt is on course to end the year around 100% of gross domestic product.
• The IMF now expects Latin America’s largest economy to shrink by 5.8% this year, much less than the 9.1% contraction it had previously estimated, and predicts a “partial” recovery and 2.8% growth next year.
• In a document outlining the preliminary findings from a recent staff visit to Brazil, the IMF said “significant” downside risks include a second wave of the pandemic, “long-term scarring” from a long recession, and confidence shocks given Brazil’s huge public debt.

(Source: Reuters)

• Mexico saw remittances, major support for the economy and in particular low-income families, jump in August to their second-highest level on record to continue their strong 2020 run, according to the central bank.
• Remittances to Mexico in August were $3.574 billion, a 5.3% rise on the same month last year, the data showed. It hit their highest level since records began in 1995 in March of this year. The third and fourth-best levels were recorded in June and July.
• Most of Mexico’s remittances are sent by the millions of Mexicans living in the United States and are a pillar of support for Latin America’s second-largest economy, which suffered in the second quarter its deepest slump since the Great Depression.

(Source: Reuters)

• The collapse of pre-election U.S. stimulus talks threatens to inflict another wave of economic pain on Americans and curtail a recovery that’s already slowed.
• President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to walk away from talks with Democrats amid differences over the size of stimulus -- even though hours later he appeared to reverse course -- likely ended the chances of a relief package before the Nov. 3 election. Aid might be delayed until January or February, after a new Congress is seated, meaning there could be a period of four or five months without additional support for jobless Americans and small businesses.
• The decision puts the economic rebound at risk of stalling in the fourth quarter, with activity remaining well below its pre-pandemic level amid the coronavirus’s persistent spread and the wait for a vaccine. It could leave the Federal Reserve under pressure to provide more support.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde pledged not to remove monetary support until the coronavirus crisis is over, reinforcing her message that central banks and fiscal authorities must work together.
• “Macroeconomic policies in the euro area have acted forcefully, geared toward protecting productive capacity and jobs,” she said in an interview with the Harvard International Review published Wednesday. “We should guard against the premature withdrawal of these support measures.”
• Most economists expect the central bank to increase stimulus by boosting its 1.35 trillion-euro ($1.6 trillion) bond-buying program before the end of the year. Lagarde spoke a day after she and ECB chief economist Philip Lane called on governments to keep up their support, with the president warning against creating a “cliff-edge” that undoes progress so far.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Bank of Jamaica announces its decision to hold the policy interest rate (the rate offered to deposit-taking institutions on overnight placements with BOJ) unchanged at 0.50% per annum.
• Its current assessment remains consistent with its August projection that inflation will average 4.7% over the next two years and will track within the target range of 4.0% to 6.0%. This forecast was mainly predicated on expectations for some economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as higher energy and agricultural food prices.
• The economic outlook for Jamaica remains highly uncertain in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but BOJ will continue to assess incoming data and stands ready to implement other policy measures if the need arises.

(Source: BOJ)