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*US economic growth slows in first quarter; inflation surges
*Lower iron, nickel and copper prices weigh on Vale's earnings
*Cement maker Cemex's Q1 profit climbs despite dip in volumes
*Latam FX off 0.4%, stocks down 0.5%
April 25 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso led losses among Latin American currencies on Thursday, after
hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data reignited concerns that
the Federal Reserve would delay cutting interest rates.The MSCI index for Latin American currencies slid 0.4% by 1500 GMT.
The peso weakened 1.1% against the dollar on the news of sticky U.S. inflation.
"What seems to be now causing some havoc across markets is the thought that we may witness a cycle of 'stagflation' in the
U.S., a time when the economy stagnates while prices remain
elevated without reprieve," said Juan Perez, director of trading
at Monex."LATAM odds of exercising loose monetary policy and stay stimulative are basically cemented."
Other Latin American currencies such as the Brazilian real and Colombia's peso shed 0.5% and 0.7%,
respectively, against the greenback.Bucking regional weakness, top copper producer Chile's peso rose 0.2%, tracking firm prices of the metal as funds
chased the market higher after a takeover bid by BHP for Anglo
American, which analysts said was focused on copper.Stocks in Latin America fell 0.5%.
Mexican stocks eased 0.1% as Arca Continental shares fell 2.1% after the bottler's first-quarter profit was
eroded by the strong Mexican peso.Cement-maker Cemex shed 1.2% after reporting lower operating earnings, even though first-quarter net profit
rose 13% on lower taxes and less exposure to financial
derivatives.Brazil's Bovespa index fell 0.4%, as heavyweight miner Vale weakened after it said lower prices for
iron ore, nickel and copper in the first quarter dragged down
earnings from the year-ago period.Argentina's MerVal rose 1.2% as stocks rebounded after two days of sharp losses.
Turkey's lira was mostly flat after the country's central bank kept its main interest rate steady at
50%, as expected.Sri Lanka's central bank said it is paramount that the country stick to its Extended Fund Facility agreement with the
International Monetary Fund and complete its debt restructuring
process, it said in a report issued on Thursday.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1500 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest Daily %
change
MSCI Emerging Markets 1027.76 -0.67
MSCI LatAm 2407.33 -0.56
Brazil Bovespa 124188.19 -0.44
Mexico IPC 56423.66 -0.07
Chile IPSA 6321.93 -0.65
Argentina MerVal 1216873.29 1.181
Colombia COLCAP 1345.39 0.15
Currencies Latest Daily %
change
Brazil real 5.1701 -0.45
Mexico peso 17.2625 -1.20
Chile peso 949.8 -0.02
Colombia peso 3969.6 -0.77
Peru sol 3.7413 -0.66
Argentina peso 873.5000 0.00
(interbank)
Argentina peso 1020 1.47
(parallel)
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)
