EconoTicker

Brazil’s February external accounts showed foreign direct investment at $6.75 billion and a current-account deficit of $5.61 billion, while the unemployment rate rose to 5.8%. The combination points to softer capital inflows alongside a labor market that has lost a bit of momentum after a stronger stretch. Banco Central do Brasil said direct-investment inflows were about $6.8 billion in February, while IBGE reported unemployment at 5.8% in the quarter ended in February.

Source: Banco Central do Brasil — external sector statistics; IBGE — PNAD Contínua.

Banco de México lowered its target for the overnight interbank rate to 6.75% from 7.00%, effective March 27, 2026. Banxico said the decision was taken by majority vote and added that, depending on macroeconomic and financial conditions, the board will evaluate the appropriateness and timing of an additional rate cut.

Source: Banco de México — Monetary policy statement, March 26, 2026.

The South African Reserve Bank kept its policy rate at 6.75% at its March meeting, while the prime rate remained at 10.25%. The decision signals policymakers are still choosing caution, keeping borrowing costs unchanged as they monitor inflation and the broader macro backdrop.

Source: South African Reserve Bank — Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, March 2026; Current Market Rates / Key Statistics.

Brazil’s mid-month CPI (IPCA-15) rose 0.44% in March, above the 0.29% consensus but below the 0.84% pace in the previous reading. On a 12-month basis, inflation slowed to 3.90% from 4.10%, suggesting inflation is still easing overall even though the monthly print came in a bit firmer than expected.

Source: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) — IPCA-15, March 2026.

Turkey’s latest reserve data showed gross FX reserves rising to $61.29 billion from $55.49 billion, while net FX reserves fell to $57.41 billion from $69.00 billion in the data you shared. The mix suggests the headline foreign-currency buffer improved, but the underlying reserve position weakened, keeping market focus on the central bank’s intervention capacity and external stability.

Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) — international reserves and foreign-currency liquidity statistics.

Israel’s industrial output rose 2.7% month on month in January, reversing from a 4.3% decline in the previous reading. The rebound suggests factory activity recovered at the start of the year after a weak end to the prior period, pointing to a firmer near-term industrial backdrop.

Source: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics — monthly industrial production publications portal.

South Africa’s producer-price data showed softer pipeline inflation in February. In the data you shared, PPI rose 1.8% year on year, down from 2.2% previously, while the monthly reading was flat at 0.0% after -0.2% before. That points to easing price pressure at the producer level, with annual inflation slowing and month-to-month pricing stabilizing. The official release for February 2026 PPI was scheduled by Statistics South Africa for March 26.

Source: Statistics South Africa — Producer Price Index (PPI), February 2026.

Nvidia-backed startup Reflection AI is in talks to raise about $2.5 billion at a $25 billion pre-money valuation, according to a Wall Street Journal report summarized by Reuters. If completed, the deal would mark a sharp jump from the company’s $8 billion valuation after its $2 billion funding round in October 2025. Reuters added that JPMorgan Chase is considering taking part in the new round, while Reflection did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The fundraising push highlights how aggressively capital is still flowing into strategic AI infrastructure, especially around companies tied to Nvidia and the broader U.S. effort to build more competitive AI systems. Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the new valuation talks.

Source: Reuters; Wall Street Journal.

Brazil’s latest foreign exchange flows showed a $119 million net outflow, improving from a $708 million outflow previously. The smaller negative reading suggests pressure on Brazil’s FX balance persisted, but the scale of outflows eased from the prior report.

Source: Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) — foreign exchange flow statistics / selected economic indicators.

Brazil’s FGV consumer confidence index rose to 88.1 in March from 86.1 in February, marking a modest improvement in household sentiment. FGV IBRE said the gain was driven by better expectations for the coming months, suggesting consumers turned slightly less pessimistic after two months of decline.

Source: FGV IBRE — Consumer Confidence Survey (ICC), March 2026.

Turkey’s central bank is considering whether to use part of its large gold reserves to help stabilize the lira, according to Bloomberg, as the currency faces renewed pressure from the war in Iran, higher energy prices, and broader geopolitical uncertainty. Bloomberg reported that officials have discussed the possibility of conducting gold-for-foreign currency swap transactions in the London market as part of an expanded defense toolkit for the currency.

Turkey’s official gold holdings were worth roughly $135 billion at the start of March, according to Bloomberg-compiled data, while recent reserve data show the central bank’s gold reserves at about $134.1 billion as of March 13, 2026. Bloomberg also said that around $30 billion of that gold is held at the Bank of England, and JPMorgan economist Fatih Akcelik said those assets could be mobilized for FX intervention without logistical constraints.

Source: Bloomberg; Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).

Turkey is intensifying efforts to defend the lira as market stress linked to the regional conflict puts new pressure on the currency. According to Bloomberg, policymakers have already tightened liquidity, pushed up funding costs, and leaned on state-run lenders to support the lira. The same report said the central bank has sold about $16 billion of foreign-currency bonds, including U.S. Treasuries, in recent weeks as part of that defense effort.

Bloomberg also reported signs of strain in the domestic market, noting that traders in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar have started selling dollars at a premium to the interbank rate, a signal that local demand for hard currency is rising. The report added that Ankara is considering a broader defense toolkit as war-related volatility continues to test the currency market.

Source: Bloomberg.