(Updates to afternoon trading)

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Latin American currencies up 0.4% on the week, stocks down 0.2%

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Brazil's economic activity up 0.1% in October

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Peru's central bank sees economy growing over 3% in 2024

By Pranav Kashyap, Johann M Cherian

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies were poised to log modest gains this week, with Brazil's real on track for its first weekly rise in a month and Peru's sol edging up after the country's central bank left interest rates unchanged.

Brazil's real weakened by 0.8% on the day as markets priced in the likelihood that the country would not be able to balance its public accounts this year.

However, the currency was set for a weekly rise of 0.7%, after Brazil's central bank hiked interest rates by an unexpected 100 basis points earlier in the week as it tries to combat inflation that analysts say is a result of excessive public spending.

Banks in Latin America's largest economy are now predicting the peak interest rate to hit levels not seen in nearly two decades, eyeing the benchmark Selic rate to reach 14.25% by March. It is currently set at 12.25%

"We're still exposed to headline risk ... one of the theories surrounding the whole picture is a loss of credibility in institutions, which is relevant when Lula is president, because he likes to bend the rules," said Eduardo Ordonez Bueso, an emerging markets debt portfolio manager at BankInvest.

The Brazilian government's efforts to push through a package of spending cuts and tax reforms has kept financial markets on edge. President

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

had been negotiating directly with lawmakers until he was rushed into a hospital in Sao Paulo where he had two operations this week to relieve and prevent bleeding in his skull.

Brazil's economy, however,

grew in October, defying expectations of a downturn.

The currencies of oil exporters Mexico and Colombia edged up 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively, tracking higher crude prices. Both the currencies were also on track to end the week higher.

Peru's central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 5%, aligning it with market expectations and pushing the sol 0.2% higher. However, stocks slid 1%.

The sol has declined the least this year, relative to its peers. The Peruvian central bank's policy rate is among the lowest in Latin America, with future adjustments hinging on inflation trends.

Separately, Peru's central bank said the country's economy will likely expand this year by more than 3%.

Latin American currencies overall have made modest headway this week, with the currencies index set to snap a four-week slump, thanks to a slightly weaker U.S. dollar.

"We're in a holding pattern, maybe a little bit of a Christmas rally, but all the attention, will come back in January when the inauguration of Donald Trump takes place," Bueso added.

On the equities front, the stocks index dipped 0.4%, weighed down by a 0.5% drop in Brazil's Bovespa index.

Mexico's main stock index climbed 0.3%, while Argentina's Merval index gained more than 2.4% as investors cheered signs of cooling inflation in the economy.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Latin American market

prices from Reuters

MSCI Emerging Markets 1106.99 -0.53

MSCI LatAm 1997.22 -0.46

Brazil Bovespa 125379.59 -0.53

Mexico IPC 51433.82 0.29

Chile IPSA 6784.85 0.06

Argentina Merval 2360987.3 2.469

Colombia COLCAP 1380.96 -0.3

Brazil real 6.0421 -0.84

Mexico peso 20.116 0.45

Chile peso 985.95 -0.88

Colombia peso 4314.67 0.64

Peru sol 3.728 0.24

Argentina peso (interbank) 1018 0.05

Argentina peso (parallel) 1085 0.91