*

Chile's economy grows less than expected in Q1

*

EM stocks up 0.4%, FX adds 0.3%

By Shashwat Chauhan

May 20 (Reuters) - Most currencies in resources-rich

Latin America rose on Monday, as brighter China demand

prospects lifted commodity prices, though cautious commentary

from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers kept a lid on gains.

As of 10:43 a.m. ET (1443 GMT), MSCI's index for Latin

American stocks rose 0.4%, while a gauge for

currencies added 0.3%.

Brazil's real advanced 0.2% against the dollar,

tracking higher iron ore prices.

Sentiment remained upbeat on prospects of improved demand

from top commodities consumer China, after Beijing last week

announced "historic" steps to stabilize its crisis-hit property

sector.

Separately, a weekly central bank poll showed private sector

economists expected Brazil's benchmark interest rate to end 2024

at 10%, up from a media estimate of 9.75% a week prior.

Chile's peso, the currency of the world's biggest

producer of copper, continued its recent strong run to rise 0.3%

against the dollar.

Prices of the red metal surged to record highs as a recent

rally triggered by short covering created momentum for

speculators and funds to bet on higher prices of the metal used

in the power and construction industries.

Data showed Chile's economy expanded 1.9% in the first

quarter of 2024 from the previous three months, slightly below

forecasts for 2.0% growth.

Mexico's peso held steady at 16.6 per dollar, while

Colombia's peso appreciated 0.4%.

Amongst equities, Brazil's main index edged 0.1% up,

while stocks in Mexico lagged regional peers to fall

0.5%.

Meanwhile, the dollar index edged higher in the

lead-up to the release of minutes from the Fed's last meeting

later this week.

"The minutes may be particularly outdated, as the meeting

took place before the release of softer indicators for April,

such as job creation, retail sales, and consumer inflation,"

StoneX analysts said.

"Still, the document can bring important information to

investors regarding discussions on what economic conditions are

necessary to justify a (rate) cut."

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that it will take

a while for the Fed to be confident that inflation is on track

back to the central bank's 2% goal.

HIGHLIGHTS

** ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israel's

Netanyahu and Hamas leaders

** Brazil central bank plans year-end proposal for crypto

regulation

** Mexican economy up 1.7% y/y in April, preliminary

estimate shows

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Stock indexes Latest Daily % change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1101.75 0.18

MSCI LatAm 2509.37 0.36

Brazil Bovespa 128271.45 0.09

Mexico IPC 57270.83 -0.54

Chile IPSA 6692.46 0.5

Argentina MerVal 1484030.26 0.717

Colombia COLCAP 1437.83 0.61

Currencies Latest Daily % change

Brazil real 5.0953 0.10

Mexico peso 16.5882 0.01

Chile peso 885.3 0.67

Colombia peso 3813.28 0.38

Peru sol 3.7357 -0.18

Argentina peso 888.5000 -0.17

(interbank)

Argentina peso 1090 2.75

(parallel)