EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX slip; Brazilian real dips on political woes

  • 7/5/2021
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* Latam FX fall, lag EMFX * Brazil"s Bolsonaro implicated in alleged graft scheme * Colombian markets were also closed for a holiday * Petrobras hikes fuel prices; shares fall (Updates prices) By Ambar Warrick and Susan Mathew July 5 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies fell on Monday, lagging broader emerging market peers, with Brazil"s real extending losses to a fifth straight session on growing concerns over corruption in the country. The real hit a two-week low and was last trading down 0.7%, despite data that showed private sector business activity in Brazil roared back to life in June, benefiting from the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions. Website UOL reported on Monday that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was involved in a scheme to skim salaries of his aides while a federal deputy. This comes after the Supreme Court authorized an investigation of Bolsonaro over the procurement process for an Indian COVID-19 vaccine. Recent political developments, particularly Bolsonaro"s declining popularity, have removed the sheen from the real, which lost about 4% over the last six days. Still, the currency is up 2% this year, and is the best performer in Latin America, propped up by positive data and a hawkish central bank. Broader emerging market currencies rose as last week"s high U.S. unemployment data continued to weigh on the dollar. But trading was light because of a public holiday in the United States. The prospect of a weak U.S. jobs market is expected to keep the Federal Reserve from tightening monetary policy in the near term and benefit emerging markets. Minutes of the Federal Reserve"s previous meeting on Wednesday will be eyed for more clues. Rabobank"s Christian Lawrence does not see the currencies as vulnerable as they were during the 2013 taper tantrum, adding that a hawkish stance by many EM central banks to keep rate differentials attractive creates less of a negative story for EM. "I"m constructive of EM over the next couple of months," he said. "I expect the dollar to be strong but more so against developed markets rather than EMs." Chile"s peso gave up 0.2%, but losses were capped on Monday by a rise in the price of copper, the country"s top export. Peru"s sol lost 0.7%, losing for the third session running. Mexico"s currency fell 3%, though data showed increasing Mexican consumer confidence in June. In Argentina, Buenos Aires province extended the deadline for a $7 billion debt restructuring deal and agreed to renew a "last round" of talks with creditors after more than a year of fraught negotiations. Among stocks, oil major Petrobras was among the biggest drags on Sao Paulo"s Bovespa index. The company announced price hikes for gasoline and diesel on Monday, the under the new chief executive. Bolsonaro had ousted the previous head for hiking diesel prices. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1907 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1354.66 -0.05 MSCI LatAm 2598.78 -0.72 Brazil Bovespa 127160.39 -0.36 Mexico IPC 50397.34 0.35 Chile IPSA 4276.41 -0.89 Argentina MerVal 64831.62 2.371 Colombia COLCAP 1289.38 2.3 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.0851 -0.67 Mexico peso 19.8440 -0.43 Chile peso 735.9 -0.18 Colombia peso 3739 0.00 Peru sol 3.9215 -0.75 Argentina peso 95.8800 -0.08 (interbank) (Reporting by Ambar Warrick Editing by David Goodman, William Maclean) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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