Peru's sol leads Latam FX higher after c.bank keeps rates steady
Updated at 1432 GMT
IMF says emerging market capital inflows recover to 2018 levels
Fiscal expansion not good for Brazil at the moment, Haddad says
Argentine inflation data due at 1900 GMT
Latam stocks up 0.3%, FX off 0.1%
By Johann M Cherian
July 12 (Reuters) -Most Latin American currencies strengthened on Friday,with Peru's sol hitting its highest level in a month after the central bank left borrowing costs unchanged, while regional stocks were set for their biggest weekly jump in seven months.
Peru's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.75% on Thursday for the second policy meeting in a row, as expected, after annual inflation rose slightly to 2.29% last month.
The sol PEN= appreciated 0.8% on Friday. It is down 0.9% year-to-date, but less than its regional peers.
"Inflation will remain within the target range and, together with the incipient recovery of economic activity, (it) will give the central bank room to implement additional cuts to the policy rate in the coming months, although with some extra pauses," said Hugo Vega, senior economist at BBVA Research said.
In contrast, Brazil's real BRL= weakened 0.4% for the second straight day as investors assessed remarks by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, who underlined that fiscal expansion was not a good thing for the country.
Investor sentiment was rattled late last month, sending the real down to over two-year lows, on concerns around high fiscal deficits and central bank independence in the region's biggest economy.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said that gross capital inflows into emerging markets excluding China last year rose to $110 billion or 0.6% of their economic output, the highest level since 2018.
Oil exporters Mexico's peso MXN= and Colombia's peso COP= firmed 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively, as crude prices got a lift on demand hopes.
The Mexican currency is set for its second straight week of gains, up over 2%, supported by the highest interest rate for any of the more popularly traded free-floating currencies, offering better returns than the dollar.
The world's largest copper producer Chile's peso CLP= inched up 0.2%, and was poised for its biggest weekly gain of nearly 3% in two months as prices of the metal ticked higher.
On the equities side, MSCI's index tracking regional bourses .MILA00000PUS dipped 0.1%, though Brazil's Bovespa .BVSP eked a 0.2% gain.
The MSCI equities index is up 3.6% for the week and is on track for its biggest weekly jump in seven months.
Mexico's main index .MXX climbed 0.4%, while Colombia's Colcap .COLCAP lost 0.4%.
Argentina's MerVal index .MERV was flat ahead of June inflation data later in the day.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1437 GMT:
Latin American market prices from Reuters | ||
Stock indexes | Latest | Daily % change |
MSCI Emerging Markets .MSCIEF | 1124.57 | -0.03 |
MSCI LatAm .MILA00000PUS | 2320.02 | 0.31 |
Brazil Bovespa .BVSP | 128536.71 | 0.19 |
Mexico IPC .MXX | 54705.35 | 0.52 |
Chile IPSA .SPIPSA | 6546.30 | 0.03 |
Argentina MerVal .MERV | 1699938.57 | -0.336 |
Colombia COLCAP .COLCAP | 1371.55 | -0.35 |
Currencies | Latest | Daily % change |
Brazil real BRBY | 5.4454 | -0.07 |
Mexico peso MXN=D2 | 17.6763 | 0.51 |
Chile peso CLP=CL | 911.9 | 0.25 |
Colombia peso COP= | 3948.5 | 0.67 |
Peru sol PEN=PE | 3.7389 | 0.19 |
Argentina peso (interbank) ARS=RASL | 919.0000 | 0.05 |
Argentina peso (parallel) ARSB= | 1460 | 0.34 |
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
