Latin American currencies close week of losses

Latin American currencies closed a week of accumulated losses on Friday, as bets grow that the US Federal Reserve will continue to tighten monetary policy to combat rampant inflation, which would translate into an economic recession.

The declines were led by the Chilean peso, which fell 2.46% to 946.10/946.40 units per dollar, its lowest closing value in almost a month. During the week, the local currency accumulated a drop of 6.9%, pressured by uncertainty ahead of the September 4 plebiscite in which Chileans will vote to decide on a proposal for a new Constitution.

The Mexican peso weakened 0.51% to 20.2068 per dollar, and the Peruvian sol lost 0.53% to 3.8620/3.8645 per dollar.

In Argentina, the peso fell 0.26% to 136.15/136.17 per dollar, with the usual regulation of the central bank, which accumulated purchases in the market for a scant 5 million dollars on the day, to add some 125 million in the week and 145 million dollars in the last seven rounds.

There was better news in Brazil and Colombia.

The Brazilian real rose a marginal 0.06% to 5.1865 per dollar, although it was down 1.86% against the greenback for the week.

The Colombian peso erased the initial losses and ended with a rise of 0.30% to 4,377 units per dollar, but accumulated a weekly depreciation of 5.17%.

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