{
  "id": 14095714,
  "title": "IMF cuts Latin America, Caribbean growth forecasts on energy shock, little AI boost",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/imf-cuts-latin-america-caribbean-growth-forecasts-on-energy-shock",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-13T02:18:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/imf-cuts-latin-america-caribbean-growth-forecasts-on-energy-shock-little-ai-boost-4945315"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its growth forecasts for Latin America and the Caribbean, indicating a slowdown in economic expansion for the current year and next, attributing the decline to energy shocks rather than the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. In its World Economic Outlook report released in Bangkok, the IMF projected regional growth to be 2.3% this year, a decrease from the previously forecasted 2.5% growth in 2025 and the July forecast of 2.4% growth for 2026. The IMF also lowered its growth forecast for 2027, from 2.7% to 2.5%. Despite the regional downgrades, the IMF increased its world growth forecast for this year to 3.1% from July’s 3.0%, hailing the positive impact of AI-driven investments and rerouted energy supplies in bolstering global economic resilience. The Middle East conflict has exacerbated energy costs, with Brent crude oil prices soaring nearly 45% above pre-war levels, leading to mounting household and business expenses and elevating global borrowing costs to record highs. In Latin America, the IMF noted that the energy shock's impact varies, influenced by the balance between gains for commodity exporters and losses for energy importers, as well as the credibility of central banks' inflation targets. Argentina is the hardest hit, with its growth expected to decelerate to 2.1% this year from 4.5% in 2025, significantly below the 3.5% forecast in July, and the 2027 forecast adjusted to 3.5% from 4.0%. Inflation in Argentina is projected to decline to 32.5% this year from 41.9% in 2025. Brazil's growth forecasts have also been revised downward, with a decline to 2.2% for this year and 1.9% for 2027, from the previous 2.4% and 2.2% estimates in July. The IMF anticipates Brazil's growth to slow next year due to persistent restrictive monetary conditions aimed at curbing inflation, the cessation of government fiscal support, and global uncertainty. Conversely, Mexico's 2026 growth forecast has been raised to 1.5% from 1.2%, driven by exports, including through AI supply chains, and stabilizing investments. However, the IMF has trimmed Mexico's 2027 growth forecast to 1.8% from 1.9%, citing ongoing trade and other uncertainties. Chile's growth is projected to slow to 0.6% this year from 2.5%, Bolivia's economy is expected to contract 3.0% after a 1.6% contraction in 2025, and Venezuela's inflation is accelerating to 467.9% from 252.0%. The IMF cautioned that risks continue to lean towards the downside, warning that market turmoil may further strain emerging economies through elevated government borrowing costs, currency pressure, and tighter local financial conditions.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "IMF cuts Latin America growth forecasts by 0.2% points for 2025",
    "Energy shocks attributed to decline, not AI boom",
    "Middle East conflict raises oil prices, exacerbating economic strain"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Rising energy costs and high borrowing costs are undermining regional stability, leaving Latin American economies vulnerable to volatile commodity markets while failing to capture the productivity gains seen in global AI investments.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "IMF cuts Latin America, Caribbean growth forecasts on energy shock, little AI boost",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/imf-cuts-latin-america-caribbean-growth-forecasts-on-energy-shock-14097305",
        "published": "2026-10-13T02:12:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}