*

Colombia CPI awaited, inflation expected to ease

*

Mexico's Gruma down after antitrust watchdog ruling

*

MSCI Latam FX index down 0.5%, stocks slide 0.8%

(Updated at 1838 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Johann M Cherian

Oct 7 (Reuters) -

Most Latin American currencies and stocks slipped on Monday,

ahead of a week filled with economic data and a policy decision

out of Peru, while Colombia's peso weakened as traders awaited a

key inflation report.

Colombia's peso depreciated over 1% against the

dollar, while yields on 10-year bonds ticked up 11

basis points, ahead of a consumer prices report due at 1900 GMT,

with economists polled by Reuters expecting inflation to ease to

5.83% in September.

Win Thin, Brown Brothers Harriman's global head of

market strategy, expects the country's central bank to cut

interest rates by 50 basis points to 9.75% at its next meeting

on October 31.

The currency has declined about 8% so far this year as

the local central bank, like most other regulators in the region

kicked off monetary policy easing, while signs of domestic

fiscal instability has also weighed on the peso.

Brazil's real weakened to 5.48 per dollar, ahead

of consumer inflation data out of the region's largest economy

expected later in the week.

Mexico's peso edged down by 0.2% ahead of a local

inflation report due on Wednesday. Laws that will implement a

judicial overhaul enacted in Mexico last month should be

presented in Congress in the coming days, lower house leader

Ricardo Monreal said over the weekend.

Copper exporter Chile's peso slipped 0.2%

tracking a dip in prices of the red metal, as investors braced

for a briefing on top consumer China's policies to promote

economic growth on Tuesday.

Peru's sol was unchanged ahead of a interest rate

decision on Thursday.

The MSCI's index for Latin American currencies

edged lower by 0.6%, against the greenback that

traded flat.

U.S. data pointing to a

robust jobs market wiped off most bets favoring large

interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve for the rest of this

year.

Mauro Roca, managing director of emerging markets at TCW

said the Fed and the dollar will be the main drivers for EM

currencies in the near term.

The MSCI's index for Latin American stocks

dropped 0.8%, with Mexico's bourse down 0.8%.

Mexico's Gruma slipped more than 9% after

Mexico's antitrust watchdog said that the corn flour and

tortilla-maker can fix prices in the market.

Brazilian equities were up 0.2%, supported by rising

commodity-linked stocks such as Vale and Petrobras

.

Argentina's MerVal index slid 2.4%.

Elsewhere in emerging markets, Uganda's central bank trimmed

its key lending rate by 25 basis points for the second time in a

row, lowering it to 9.75%, saying that inflation was expected to

remain below its target in the near term.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Latin American market

prices from Reuters

MSCI Emerging Markets 1183.48 0.35

MSCI LatAm 2230.45 -0.83

Brazil Bovespa 131986.93 0.15

Mexico IPC 52189.21 -0.8

Chile IPSA 6450.59 -0.47

Argentina Merval 1713371.4 -2.456

9

Colombia COLCAP 1306.23 0.18

Brazil real 5.4805 -0.46

Mexico peso 19.3075 -0.26

Chile peso 925.88 -0.2

Colombia peso 4212.17 -1.26

Peru sol 3.7197 flat

Argentina peso 974.5 -0.31

(interbank)

Argentina peso (parallel) 1170 2.14