• An independent evaluation of prospective resources offshore Jamaica prepared by Gaffney Cline & Associates (Gaffney Cline) shows that there is potential for more than 2.4 billion barrels of oil across 11 prospects and leads covering the Walton Morant license. This license is now held 100% by United Oil & Gas, a U.K.-based oil and gas company.
• “United has long held the view that the Walton Morant Basin is a highly prospective and exciting basin, with billion-barrel potential,” said Jonathan Leather, Chief Operating Officer of United Oil and Gas. “This is the second independent report on the license and the first to explore prospects across the full basin.”
• He said results from the report will help the company move towards reaching the goal of being in a position to drill the first exploration well offshore Jamaica for over 40 years.

(Source: Oil Now)

• The Mexican peso (MXN) will appreciate against the US dollar over the near term, driven by optimism around the global economy and its carry trade value.
• Over the longer term, the agency expects the currency will weaken against the US dollar, weighed down by relatively weak economic fundamentals and more dovish monetary policy.
• Fitch Solutions forecasts an average exchange rate of MXN20.70/USD in 2021, down from previous forecast of MXN21.65/USD, with the exchange rate ending the year at MXN21.30/USD.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• The Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) will maintain a dovish monetary policy stance in 2021, aided by low domestic inflation and sustained global central bank dovishness.
• In addition, the government’s limited fiscal capacity will leave monetary policy as the primary driver for Costa Rica’s economic recovery in the coming quarters.
• Fitch Solutions forecasts the BCCR will hold its benchmark interest rate at 0.75% through end-2021, and expect inflation will average 1.8% y-o-y in 2021.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Oil hit a nine-month high on Thursday after government data showed a fall in U.S. crude stockpiles last week, while progress towards a U.S. fiscal stimulus deal and strong Asian demand also buoyed prices.
• Brent crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.9%, to $51.53 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 46 cents, or nearly 1%, to $48.28 a barrel. Both benchmarks hit their highest since early March.
• U.S crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 11, the Energy Information Administration said, more than analysts' expectations of a 1.9-million-barrel drop.
• Also boosting oil prices, U.S. lawmakers edged closer to an agreement on a $900Bn virus-relief spending package on Wednesday with top Democrats and Republicans sounding more positive than they have in months about getting something done.

(Source: Reuters)

• The United States is hopeful of sealing a mini-trade deal with the United Kingdom to reduce tariffs, President Donald Trump's trade chief, Robert Lighthizer, told the BBC.
• Lighthizer said he was hopeful for a deal that could see punitive tariffs on Scottish whisky lowered.
• He also suggested the UK would need to go further than last week's announcement breaking with the EU's support of European planemaker Airbus.
• Britain will suspend retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. goods as part of a dispute over aircraft subsidies from Jan. 1, the first step to diverging from European Union trade policy.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Producer Price Index for the Mining and Quarrying industry increased by 3.8% while the index for the manufacturing industry decreased by 0.3% for October 2020.
• The movement in the index for the Mining and Quarrying industry was influenced mainly by a 4.0% increase in the index for the major group ‘Bauxite Mining & Alumina Processing’.
• The main contributor to the decline in the index for the Manufacturing industry was the major group, ‘Refined Petroleum Products’ which fell by 4.3%. However, increases in the index for the major groups, ‘Food, Beverages & Tobacco’ (0.7%) and ‘Chemicals and Chemical Products’ (0.1%) tempered the decline of the index for the industry.
• The point-to-point index declined by 2.6% for the Mining & Quarrying industry and increased by 0.9% for the Manufacturing industry.

(Source: STATIN)

• BOJ’s October 2020 survey indicated expected inflation of 6.3% for the calendar year 2020, which is higher than the October 2020 CPI outturn of 5.0%. The expected inflation 12 months ahead decreased to 6.7% relative to the previous survey outturn of 7.0%.
• The perception of inflation control declined slightly in the October 2020 survey relative to the September 2020 survey.
• The majority of respondents continued to believe that the Bank’s policy rate will remain the same over the next three months.
• The Present Business Conditions Index reflected a lower level of optimism while the Future Business Conditions Index illustrated a sharp increase in optimism compared to the previous survey.

(Source: BOJ)

• Fitch Solutions has revised its forecast for Panama’s real GDP growth to -13.2% and 7.9% y-o-y in 2020 and 2021, from -8.9% and 4.8% previously, as severe mobility restrictions caused the region’s deepest contraction in Q220.
• While the government has begun to phase out many public health restrictions, limited fiscal support suggests a sluggish recovery over the coming quarters.
• Over the medium-term, however, the agency maintains an upbeat growth forecast for Panama, as a robust private sector, supportive international trade trends, and major infrastructure investments will drive sustained growth.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Rebounding exports following the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic will help to narrow Colombia’s current account deficit in 2021 and the years thereafter. 
• That said, Fitch Solutions expects that the country's current account shortfalls will persist over the coming years amid a subdued outlook for oil production and prices, combined with renewed demand for imports.
• It has revised its 2020 and 2021 current account deficit forecasts to 4.0% of GDP and 3.9% respectively, from 4.4% and 4.0% previously, as remittance inflows have surprised to the upside in recent months. 

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• The outlook for the global economy is improving despite a second wave of coronavirus outbreaks in many countries as vaccines emerge and a Chinese-led recovery takes hold, the OECD said on Tuesday.
• The global economy will grow 4.2% next year and ease to 3.7% in 2022, after shrinking 4.2% this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its latest Economic Outlook.
• After the second wave of infections hit Europe and the United States, the Paris-based policy forum trimmed its forecasts from September, when it expected a global contraction of 4.5% before a 5% recovery in 2021. It did not have a 2022 forecast at the time.

(Source: Reuters)