* Latam FX down 0.5%, stocks down 1.2%

* Mexico's annual inflation cools to 3.55% in first half of

June

* Holding rates only viable option: Chile cenbank minutes

* Peru's Keiko Fujimori secures unbeatable lead in election

(Updates with late afternoon trading)

By Avinash P and Ragini Mathur

June 24 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks and currencies

slid on Wednesday, pressured by a resurgent U.S. dollar, while

investors weighed the sustainability of recent rallies sparked

by right-wing election victories in Peru and Colombia.

The MSCI index tracking Latin American currencies

fell 0.5% to an over two-week low.

The dollar extended its ascent, climbing to a

13-month high, as investors piled into the greenback after

Tuesday's tech-led selloff in global markets and as expectations

of Federal Reserve rate hikes rose.

ELECTIONS FRONT AND CENTER

Conservative Keiko Fujimori gained an insurmountable lead in

Peru's presidential runoff, setting her on track to be the first

elected female president of the country.

Her expected win follows Colombia's right-wing candidate

Abelardo De La Espriella's victory in presidential elections on

Sunday, reinforcing a broader rightward shift across the region.

"Victories for right-wing candidates in this month's

presidential elections have boosted the sol and peso. But future

gains will depend on whether the new governments can make

meaningful progress on fiscal challenges," said Kimberley

Sperrfechter, senior emerging markets economist at Capital

Economics.

Both candidates are considered market favorites due to their

promises of business-friendly policies, with the

countries' assets rallying sharply in the weeks leading up to

the final votes.

However, the streak will be tested in the October elections

in Brazil, where current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da

Silva is leading opinion polls.

Stocks in Peru and Colombia fell

0.8% and 1.9%, respectively on Wednesday, putting both markets

on track for their third day of losses.

Currencies fared no better, with Peru's sol down

0.5%, while Colombia's peso weakened 0.3%, easing from

over five-year highs.

Elsewhere, Venezuela's sovereign bonds rose as much as 1

cent on the dollar after the Financial Times reported that a

forthcoming estimate would put the country's total debt at about

$240 billion.

The bonds have pulled back over the past month after an

unprecedented rally triggered by the U.S. capture of Nicolas

Maduro in January.

Mexico's annual inflation rate hit 3.55% in the first half

of June, data showed, below expectations and slowing compared to

the same period last month.

The data comes ahead of the central bank's interest rate

decision later this week, where the bank is widely expected to

hold rates steady, after ending an over two-year-long easing

cycle at the last meeting.

"Although inflation generally dipped in May, it will rise in

the coming months. Central banks in Mexico, Chile and Peru are

likely to hike interest rates over the next 12 months,"

Sperrfechter added.

COMMODITIES WEIGH ON STOCKS

The rising dollar brought gold prices to seven-month lows

and copper to its lowest since May 5. Oil prices settled around

$70 a barrel, to levels before the Iran war started.

Heavyweight miners Grupo Mexico and YPF

fell over 4% each, Vale lost 2%, while oil

firms Petrobras and Ecopetrol were

down 2.9% and 5.8%, respectively.

Argentina's Merval was the biggest decliner, down

4.2%, while stocks in Mexico, Brazil and Chile

lost between 0.3% and 0.6%.

MSCI's regional stocks gauge dipped 1.2%, to

a near two-week low.

Chile's peso weakened 0.7% against the dollar, set

for its sixth session of declines - its longest losing streak

this year.

Minutes from Chile's June central bank meeting showed

policymakers considered keeping the key rate unchanged as the

only viable option, citing greater-than-usual global

uncertainty.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Latin American market

prices from Reuters

Equities Latest Daily %

change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1730.74 -0.17

MSCI LatAm 2904.7 -1.23

Brazil Bovespa 170710.6 -0.32

Mexico IPC 66377.16 -0.6

Chile IPSA 10728.08 -0.39

Argentina Merval 3111589.7 -4.21

6

Colombia COLCAP 2302.15 -1.91

Currencies Latest Daily %

change

Brazil real 5.2018 -0.42

Mexico peso 17.6262 -0.43

Chile peso 919.86 -0.71

Colombia peso 3426.58 -0.28

Peru sol 3.4206 -0.97

Argentina peso (interbank) 1479 -0.58

Argentina peso (parallel) 1510 -1.68