Weekly Chart: Latin America's Revised Economic Outlook

From political to economic to health crises, news out of Brazil has seemed largely negative in the months leading up to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But the International Monetary Fund’s July 19 update to global economic forecasts brings some cheer. While Latin America’s outlook improved from a 0.5 percent GDP contraction to a 0.4 percent contraction, Brazil’s prospects went up by 0.5 percent. Only one other country in the report saw a bigger jump: Russia, with a 0.6 percent gain. The South American giant’s economy will still contract an estimated 3.3 percent this year, but with the anticipation that 2017 will get the economy back in the black. Mexico got a little bump, too.

What’s behind the good news? The IMF suggests a couple of reasons: emerging markets are less vulnerable to Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and oil prices are up from the beginning of the year.

AS/COA Online charts the data.