* Chilean peso breaks 5-day losing streak
* U.S.-China trade rhetoric improves
* Mexican peso eases after GDP data
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Chilean peso firmed more than 1% on
the back of higher copper prices on Monday, while other Latin
American currencies dipped against a slightly stronger dollar as
a report sparked hopes of a trade truce between the United
States and China.
Chile's peso rose for the first time in six sessions
as a sharp decline in copper inventory in London Metal Exchange
(LME) warehouses boosted copper prices.
The currency has been battered in the past month by
prolonged anti-government unrest, having lost nearly 10% since
Oct. 21 when the protesters turned to vandalism.
MSCI's index of Latin American currencies
dipped 0.3% after rising nearly half a percent in the previous
session.
A Chinese state-backed newspaper said on Monday that Beijing
and Washington were "very close" to an initial trade agreement,
adding to optimism sparked by comments over the weekend by a
U.S. trade adviser that a deal was still possible this year.
"There is a little bit of cautious optimism on the trade
front," said Edward Glossop, Latin America economist at Capital
Economics. "But it also is the case of us not seeing a deal as
early as some had expected."
The Mexican peso weakened slightly after revised data
showed the country's economy had entered a mild recession during
the first half of 2019 and was flat in the third quarter.
Investors are also tracking the Colombian peso, as
hundreds of people marched in the capital on Sunday in honor of
a gravely injured teenage demonstrator, on the fourth day of
protests.
"The one currency everyone is waiting for today is the
Colombian peso given how the protests over the weekend seemed to
have escalated," Glossop said.
Brazil's real eased 0.3% after central bank figures
showed the country's balance of payments position with the rest
of the world deteriorated in October, as the current account
deficit widened and investment inflows from abroad failed to
cover the shortfall.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1420 GMT:
Stock indexes Latest Daily % change
MSCI Emerging Markets 1051.95 0.32
MSCI LatAm 2698.26 -0.52
Brazil Bovespa 108492. -0.18
78
Mexico IPC - -
Chile SPIPSA 4719.71 -0.22
Argentina MerVal - -
Colombia COLCAP - -
Currencies Latest Daily % change
Brazil real 4.2083 -0.38
Mexico peso 19.4031 -0.16
Chile peso 788.4 1.31
Colombia peso 3417.8 0.14
Peru sol 3.388 0.00
Argentina peso (interbank) 59.7700 0.07
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Steve
Orlofsky)
