Latin America Eyes Economic Rebound, Officials Say

ALEX KENNEDY

SINGAPORE (AP) — Latin America, led by Brazil and Mexico, is poised to rebound next year from recession thanks to improving export demand and higher prices for commodities such as oil and copper, regional economic officials said Thursday.

Brazil, the world's eighth-largest economy, is expecting 9 percent growth in the fourth quarter and a 5 percent expansion next year amid surging domestic consumer demand and signs of a pickup in exports, Deputy Trade Minister Welber Barral told reporters on the sidelines of a yearly Latin American business conference in Singapore.

Mexico is eyeing 3 percent growth in 2010 after a 7.2 percent contraction this year while Chile expects a 5 percent expansion following a 1 percent drop.

A growing consensus for sounder fiscal polices, more robust banking systems and bigger stockpiles of international reserves helped contain the damage from the global financial crisis, said Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank.

"Latin America felt the full force of the world market crash," Moreno said. "But unlike in previous crises, now these downturns no longer need translate into lost decades."