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Argentina likely to see inflation tick up this year - analysts
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Colombia oil output down on roadblock - companies
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EM currencies, Latam FX off 1.1%
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amruta Khandekar
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies and their
emerging market peers fell on Monday against a firm dollar as
robust U.S. labor 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 briefly dipped to a record low of 18.85 and
its main stock market fell on Monday as a major earthquake added
to pressures from a strong dollar and the war in Ukraine, as
well as a surprise inflation reading.
"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.
In Latin America, the Colombian peso fell 1.8% 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 1.1%. Currencies of the world's top copper producers Chile and Peru fell nearly 1% and 0.5% 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."
Chinese stocks ended lower on Monday, weighing on the broader emerging market stocks index .
The Brazilian real slid 0.6% against the dollar. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday there was "no explanation" for the country's high interest rates, with the benchmark rate at currently at a six-year high. Overall, the MSCI's index for Latin American currencies fell 1.1%, while regional equities slid 1.2%, extending losses for a fourth straight session.
After a rough 2022, EM currencies have rebounded this year as the dollar fell from multi-decade highs and China's reopening bolstered risk sentiment. "I'm not a huge bull on emerging economies," said Robert Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Wealth Management, pointing to governance and debt management issues in the regions. "Things have not changed for the better politically, geopolitically in Latin America and so I'm not a hugely optimistic that they're turning the corner."
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.
India's central bank is widely expected to raise its policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point to mark its final increase in the current tightening cycle on Wednesday, economists said. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1920 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1013.59 -2.42 MSCI LatAm 2226.21 -1.28 Brazil Bovespa 108394.88 -0.12 Chile IPSA 5285.70 -0.54 Argentina MerVal 239939.77 0.238 Colombia COLCAP 1265.75 0.2 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.1754 -0.60 Mexico peso 19.1631 -1.09 Chile peso 802.4 -0.97 Colombia peso 4783.25 -1.84 Peru sol 3.8354 -0.52 Argentina peso 189.1000 -0.57 (interbank) Argentina peso 369 2.71 (parallel) (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jan Harvey and Nick Zieminski)
@BansariKamdar;))