*

Brazil's retail sales unexpectedly rise in Feb to 24-year

high

*

Colombia economy will grow 3.4% in 2025, says cenbank

chief

*

Mexico Feb industrial production falls 0.1% vs Jan

*

Latam stocks down 0.7%, currencies off 0.3%

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar

April 11 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies eased on

Thursday as investors assessed a mixed U.S. inflation picture

this week, while Peru's sol bucked weakness in regional peers

ahead of the country's central bank decision on interest rates

later in the day.

The MSCI index for Latam currencies slipped

0.3% by 1442 GMT, after shedding more than 1% in the previous

session as the dollar soared on hotter-than-expected U.S.

consumer prices data.

The dollar index extended gains by 0.3% after briefly

retreating following weaker-than-expected U.S. producer prices

print.

The Peruvian sol rose 0.5% against the dollar, ahead

of the rate decision for the world's No. 2 copper producer after

the monetary authority unexpectedly held its benchmark interest

rate at 6.25% in March.

"We expect the MPC (monetary policy committee) to cut its

policy rate by 25 bp to 6.0%," said economists at Goldman Sachs.

"The MPC implied that it retained its easing bias, as it

lowered the marginal reserve requirement in local currency by 50

bp to 5.50% (it had remained fixed since May 2022)."

The Brazilian real eased 0.2% against the greenback.

Data showed retail sales in Brazil rose unexpectedly in February

to their highest level in at least 24 years.

Chile's peso and the Colombian peso fell 0.3%

each against a strengthening dollar.

The Colombian central bank's technical team estimated the

Andean country's economy will grow 3.4% in 2025, board chief

Leonardo Villar told a pension conference.

Colombian Mines and Energy Minister Andres Camacho said it

will look to loosen regulation on gas exploration and supply to

meet the South American nation's needs in 2026 and 2027.

The Arrecife gas field could produce 20 million to 30

million cubic feet per day between 2025 and 2026, Ecopetrol CEO

Ricardo Roa said. Shares of the state-owned oil company

rose 1.1%.

Broadly, stocks in Colombia slid 0.5%, while Latin

American shares fell 0.7%.

Mexico's peso eased 0.3% against the dollar. Data

showed Mexican industrial output fell 0.1% in February from

January and was 3.3% higher year-over-year.

Elsewhere, OPEC predicted robust fuel use in the summer

months and stuck to its forecast for relatively strong growth in

global oil demand in 2024, while saying there was a chance the

world economy could do better than expected this year.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Uruguay central bank cuts interest rate by 50 bp to 8.50%

** Morgan Stanley raises China's 2024 growth forecast to

4.8%

** March CPI dips in Hungary and Romania, services prices

stay hot

** S.Korean shares recoup early losses despite reform doubts

** Ethiopia faces tough devaluation decision to secure IMF

bailout

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1442 GMT:

Stock indexes Latest Daily % change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1053.61 -0.4

MSCI LatAm 2509.71 -0.66

Brazil Bovespa 127199.37 -0.67

Mexico IPC 56566.27 -0.12

Chile IPSA 6689.95 0.03

Argentina MerVal 1240378.87 0.521

Colombia COLCAP 1391.56 -0.46

Currencies Latest Daily % change

Brazil real 5.0857 -0.16

Mexico peso 16.4773 -0.41

Chile peso 957.2 -0.36

Colombia peso 3819.27 -0.37

Peru sol 3.717 -0.35

Argentina peso (interbank) 865.5000 0.00

Argentina peso (parallel) 980 2.04