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Mexican peso on track to log five-day winning streak

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Argentina's peso hits four-digit territory

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Latam stocks flat, FX off 0.1%

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Suriname signs debt rescheduling with China

(Updates with mid-session trading)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies

slightly bucked the global risk-off sentiment on Tuesday amid

escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with only the

Brazilian real slipping.

The Mexican peso reversed early losses to last

trade up 0.46%, on track for a five-day winning streak, while

the Chilean peso ticked up 0.1%.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a

nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional

attacks, and Moscow said Ukraine had struck deep inside Russia

with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles.

The attacks followed reports this week that U.S. President

Joe Biden would allow Ukraine to fire American long-range

missiles deep into Russia.

Investors fled to safe-haven currencies such as the U.S.

dollar, Japanese yen and the Swiss franc

, while gold also rose.

The modest deviation in Latin American assets from the

global risk-off sentiment came as investors did not perceive any

immediate geographical risks associated with the Russia-Ukraine

conflict.

"Investors would want to get away from those regional

assets (assets close to Ukraine), and go towards where you're

going to get a bit more safety. Latin America absolutely is a

safer bet today than other regions would be," said Juan Perez,

director of trading at Monex USA.

The Bank of Mexico will likely be able to continue cutting

its benchmark interest rate due to the progress made on bringing

inflation down, bank Governor Victoria Rodriguez told Reuters in

an interview.

The focus turns to the release of GDP figures on Friday.

But on the losing side Brazil's real was down 0.45%,

while Colombia's peso edged 0.1% lower.

Brazilian central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said the

country faces a clear inflation challenge, pointing to concerns

about service inflation and inflation expectations unanchored

from the official target.

Also on the radar this week will be the release of the

Brazilian government's package of spending cuts, which Finance

Minister Fernando Haddad said in an interview over the weekend

could be released soon.

Colombia needs to cut budget spending by 56 trillion pesos

($12.7 billion) to comply with its fiscal rule this year, an

independent committee of experts said, a much higher figure than

is being discussed publicly by officials.

Argentina's peso edged past 1,000 pesos per U.S.

dollar,

marking

the first time the official exchange rate weakened into

four-digit territory.

Local bourses were mixed, though Argentina's benchmark

jumped more than 4% to a record high, as traders

returned after a local market holiday on Monday.

MSCI's index for Latin American currencies

dipped 0.1%, while a gauge for stocks was flat.

Latin American assets have struggled recently as markets

mulled U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's fiscal, trade and

immigration policies, which could be a drag on most developing

economies.

All eyes are on Trump's cabinet selection, with the search

for a Treasury secretary widening after last week's picks for

health and defense roles.

Late on Monday, Suriname's finance minister, Stanley

Raghoebarsing, told the National Assembly that the country has

signed a debt rescheduling with China, with the head of the

South American country's debt management office saying first

repayments to creditors will come this year.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies:

Equities Latest Daily % change

MSCI Emerging Markets 1095.07 0.49

MSCI LatAm 2089.71 flat

Brazil Bovespa 0.40

128280.42

Mexico IPC flat

50471.39

Chile IPSA 6548.72 0.1

Argentina Merval 2134079.0

2 3.25

Colombia COLCAP 1363.26 flat

Currencies Latest Daily % change

Brazil real 5.77 -0.45

Mexico peso 20.11 0.46

Chile peso 971.55 0.1

Colombia peso 4397.58 -0.1

Peru sol 3.79 flat

Argentina peso 1001.50

(interbank)

Argentina peso (parallel) 1115