Latin America Lured Cash as Wall Street Shunned Other EM Regions

(Bloomberg) — Latin America was the only region in emerging markets to attract fresh investment in December, an indication that Wall Street — despite its optimism on developing assets — is still moving with caution.

(Bloomberg) — Latin America was the only region in emerging markets to attract fresh investment in December, an indication that Wall Street — despite its optimism on developing assets — is still moving with caution.

Investors poured $8.3 billion into Latin American debt and equities last month, while withdrawing capital from all other developing regions, according the Institute of International Finance. That resulted in net inflows to emerging markets overall of just $1.7 billion in December, the data show.

Read: Emerging Markets Lure Back Wall Street as IIF Touts 2023 Rebound

“While the expectation of a Fed pivot helped to improve the overall picture, there are still pockets of risk across the EM complex,” said Jonathan Fortun, an economist at the Washington-based industry group, in a note.

The IIF expects dollar-debt returns in emerging markets to rebound in the coming year, though rising risk spreads could offset gains if US financial conditions tighten, Fortun wrote.

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