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Brazil's govt confident of victory in tax case in top court
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Colombia 12-month inflation up 12.82% in April
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Ecuador frees cash for Galapagos with $1.6 bln bond buyback
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Colombia's Congress approves $247 bln development plan
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Latam FX up 1.1%, stocks add 1.8%
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar May 5 (Reuters) - The Colombian peso rose on Friday and was headed for its fourth straight session of gains, while the broader Latin American currencies index hit its highest level in more than eight years, supported by a weakening dollar and firm commodity prices. The peso gained 0.9% by 1418 GMT, while Colombian stocks rose 1.2%. Colombia's consumer prices rose by 0.78% in April, taking cumulative 12-month price growth to 12.82%, below median estimates. "We are starting to see that inflation is probably turning the corner, but core inflation remains relatively sticky, so that suggests that (the) central bank will have to keep interest rates relatively higher for longer than we initially expected," Pantheon Macroeconomics' chief Latin America economist Andres Abadia said. Colombia's Congress on Thursday approved a $247.4 billion four-year development plan, paving the way for President Gustavo Petro's government to implement social and economic reforms. Colombia's central bank board continued a long tightening cycle last week amid persistent inflation and significant stability risks to the global financial system, taking the benchmark interest rate to 13.25%. Overall, the MSCI's index for Latin American currencies rose 1.1%, hitting its highest level since October 2014. In Brazil, the real rose 0.5% against the dollar. Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the government "has everything" to establish a successful thesis in a high-profile tax case in the Supreme Court, potentially increasing revenues by nearly 90 billion reais ($18 billion) annually. Chile's peso and the Peruvian sol added 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively, tracking firm copper prices, while Mexico's peso rose 0.5% against the dollar. Chileans will vote to elect 50 constitutional advisers on Sunday, a major step toward rewriting the constitution, after voters overwhelmingly rejected a first attempt in a plebiscite last September to replace the dictatorship-era charter. Credit Suisse has bought up $1.6 billion worth of Ecuador's bonds, freeing up cash for conservation of the country's unique Galapagos Islands in what is set to be the biggest debt-for-nature swap ever struck. Elsewhere in emerging markets, Turkish Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said that no one should expect the central bank to raise interest rates to above or near the current headline inflation, which stood at 43.7% in April, after the May 14 election. Indonesia's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, as consumer and government spending offset a slowdown in exports and investment in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:
Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 980.85 0.46 MSCI LatAm 2225.84 1.84 Brazil Bovespa 102877.49 0.69 Mexico IPC 54894.78 0.42 Chile IPSA 5412.21 0.67 Argentina MerVal 0.00 0 Colombia COLCAP 1172.76 1.22
Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.9569 0.70 Mexico peso 17.8178 0.47 Chile peso 795.1 0.45 Colombia peso 4562.51 0.92 Peru sol 3.701 0.05 Argentina peso (interbank) 226.1000 -0.18 Argentina peso (parallel) 463 1.08 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru)
