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Argentina likely to see inflation tick up this year - analysts
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Brazil's Lula to restart housing program for low-income
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Colombia oil output down by 49,500 bpd on roadblock - companies
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EM currencies off 0.9%, Latam FX down 1.1%
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar Feb 6 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies and their emerging market peers fell on Monday against a firm dollar as robust U.S. labour market data reignited fears of a hawkish Federal Reserve, with the Turkish lira hitting a record low against the greenback. Weighing on emerging market currencies globally, the U.S. dollar index extended its sharp rally after a hotter-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls number on Friday renewed fears of further rate hikes from the Fed. Turkey's lira hit a record low of 18.85 against the dollar and its stock markets tumbled as a major earthquake added to pressures from the dollar, geopolitical risks and surprise inflation readings out of the country. "Typically in natural disasters, the first reaction is to sell assets and move to safety, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's happening today," said Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba Insights.
Ziemba said she sees the lira underperforming some other higher-yielding emerging market currencies because of the Turkish central bank's easing stance, uncertainty over a potential rise in commodity prices, and sanctions risk associated with Turkish links to Russia.
In Latin America, the Colombian peso fell 1.6% to 4,769.60 against a firm greenback. Energy companies operating in Colombia, including majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, warned about a roadblock in the country's Meta province, which led to production cuts of more than 49,500 barrels of oil per day. Oil producer Mexico's peso declined 0.6% as crude prices slipped.
Currencies of the world's top copper producers Chile and Peru fell 0.7% and 0.4% respectively as prices of the red metal hit a four-week low on doubts about a recovery in demand, Sino-U.S. tensions and a stronger dollar. Tensions between the United States and China escalated after the U.S. military on Saturday shot down what it believed was a Chinese surveillance balloon, a response China described as an "obvious overreaction". The Brazilian real slid 0.6% against the dollar. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will this month restart the federal housing program "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" for lower-income people, his chief of staff said. Overall, the MSCI's index for Latin American currencies fell 1.1%, while the index for regional equities slid 1.7%, extending losses for a fourth straight session.
Elsewhere analysts consulted by Argentina's central bank expect surging consumer prices to rise slightly this year, the bank said on Friday, which would mark a second straight year of near triple-digit inflation for South America's second-biggest economy.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1452 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1013.01 -2.47 MSCI LatAm 2215.98 -1.74 Brazil Bovespa 107911.81 -0.56 Mexico IPC 54049.05 0.32 Chile IPSA 5305.12 -0.17 Argentina MerVal 240282.04 0.381 Colombia COLCAP 1257.81 -0.43
Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.1865 -0.81 Mexico peso 19.1194 -0.86 Chile peso 803.9 -1.16 Colombia peso 4769.6 -1.56 Peru sol 3.8487 -0.87 Argentina peso (interbank) 189.0500 -0.54 Argentina peso (parallel) 375 1.07 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey)
@BansariKamdar;))