*
Mexico Feb retail sales fall 0.3% from Jan
*
Biden to discuss Venezuela sanctions with Colombia's Petro
*
Brazil govt launches measures to boost consumer, capital
credit
*
Uruguay cuts interest rate, citing inflation progress
*
Salvadoran spreads tighten on IMF deal bets, bonds
distressed
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar April 20 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies rose on Thursday against a weakening dollar, while the Mexican peso was flat after its February's retail sales figures fell far more than expected, raising concerns about its economic growth. The peso was flat against a softer dollar at 1027 ET after data showed Mexican retail sales fell 0.3% in February from January compared to estimates of a 0.2% rise.
"Going forward, household consumption of goods and services is likely to face headwinds from high interest rates, soft sentiment indicators, and fading contribution from the COVID economic activity normalization," said economists at Goldman Sachs, in a note. Supporting emerging market currencies, the U.S. dollar index drifted 0.3% lower amid caution in global markets ahead of a barrage of central bank meetings and U.S. earnings in the coming weeks. The Colombian peso climbed 0.4% against the dollar. Investors focused on talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Colombian President Gustavo Petro later in the day.
Biden will discuss Venezuela with Petro, including U.S. willingness to further ease sanctions on the OPEC nation only in return for concrete steps toward free elections there, said a senior administration official. Brazil's real gained 0.5% against the greenback after the government unveiled a package of 13 measures to ease consumer access to credit and reduce associated costs in the capital and insurance markets. Meanwhile, the top national security adviser to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva resigned on Wednesday, amid a scandal related to the aide's presence during the storming of Brazilian government buildings in the capital. Currencies of copper producers Chile and Peru added 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, against the dollar, tracking broader moves even as uncertainty over further U.S. rate hikes and a sluggish recovery of demand in China weighed on prices of the red metal. Elsewhere in South America, Salvadoran bond spreads narrowed on Wednesday to their tightest since December 2021 in a rally triggered by hopes a key new adviser to the finance ministry would be able to help secure a debt deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Cuban lawmakers re-elected Miguel Diaz-Canel as president for a second term. Uruguay's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, lowering the key borrowing rate to 11.25% and marking the first moves to reduce interest rates in the region.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 990.51 0.01 MSCI LatAm 2240.43 0.1 Brazil Bovespa 104370.72 0.44 Mexico IPC 54390.34 0.15 Chile IPSA 5401.65 -0.4 Argentina MerVal 275230.92 -0.064 Colombia COLCAP 1245.49 -0.2
Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.0485 0.73 Mexico peso 18.0538 -0.12 Chile peso 791.4 0.33 Colombia peso 4516.95 0.41 Peru sol 3.7634 -0.01 Argentina peso (interbank) 218.0200 -0.25 Argentina peso (parallel) 425 -0.47 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru Editing by Nick Zieminski)
@BansariKamdar;))