*
Brazil reports first current account surplus for March in
17 yrs
*
Argentina's peso at record lows in black market
*
Mexican economy grows 0.1% in February from January
*
Brazil retail sales down 0.1% in February
*
Latam FX slips 0.1%, stocks down 0.9%
(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 25 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso snapped a four-day
winning streak on Tuesday after data showed its economy grew
less than expected in February, while Argentina's peso touched
new lows in popular black markets.
The peso eased 0.6% against the dollar after data showed Mexico's economy grew 0.1% in February from January and expanded 3.8% from February of 2022, missing analyst estimates. "Their manufacturing is now under stress because of the U.S.'s weakening industrial sector. We also believe that the tight financial conditions and relatively high inflation will put a lid on the services economy," said Andres Abadia, chief Latam economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Argentina's peso tumbled to a fresh record low,
nearing 500 against the greenback in parallel rates as an
election build-up sows uncertainty and the economy shows strains
beyond the country's all-important grains exports, hit by a
crippling drought.
"It's not a big surprise that the parallel price sort of
continues to weaken," said Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba
Insights.
The black market peso's slump has pressured President Alberto Fernandez's government to devalue the currency, something he has long resisted, and forced the central bank to increase intervention in the FX market that in March amounted to over $1 billion.
"Some sort of formal devaluation is probably a matter of time, and obviously as the election cycle really picks up. So it's not a surprise that Argentine assets are under pressure."
Brazil's real fell 0.6% against a stronger dollar.
Data showed Brazil posted a current account surplus of $286 million in March, the strongest data for the month in 17 years. Brazilian central bank Governor Roberto Campos Neto said the country's current interest rate is consistent with its inflation issue, stating that core inflation remains elevated, fueled by demand-driven factors in consumer prices. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that his picks for central bank directors will be submitted to the Senate for approval as soon as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returns to Brazil from his visit to Spain.
Top copper producer Chile's peso edged 0.2% higher, rising for the first time in three sessions, while oil exporter Colombia's peso eased 1%. Emerging market stocks fell 0.9% and were set for their third straight day of losses as weakness in metal and crude prices weighed on stocks in the commodity-heavy region. Brazilian stocks shed 0.9%, led by miners like Vale SA , while Colombia's state-owned oil company Ecopetrol fell 6.5% weighing on the MSCI COLCAP .
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1948 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest Daily
%
change
MSCI Emerging Markets 964.39 -1.33
MSCI LatAm 2205.84 -0.82
Brazil Bovespa 103085.2 -0.83
0
Mexico IPC 54458.82 -0.47
Chile IPSA 5277.80 -0.36
Argentina MerVal 304090.5 1.559
6
Colombia COLCAP 1198.51 -2.18
Currencies Latest Daily
%
change
Brazil real 5.0652 -0.50
Mexico peso 18.0897 -0.68
Chile peso 813.2 0.44
Colombia peso 4507.89 -1.03
Peru sol 3.7433 -0.10
Argentina peso (interbank) 220.8700 -0.29 Argentina peso (parallel) 490 -5.71
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shreyashi Sanyal in
Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean and Nick Zieminski)
