* Brazil’s Mello raises possibility of changing inflation target * Bolsonaro mulls return to Brazil in coming weeks * Mexico’s Cemex posts surprise quarterly loss * Latam FX up 1.0%, stocks add 1.5% By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shubham Batra Feb 13 (Reuters) – Brazil’s real snapped a two-day losing streak on Monday, leading gains among Latin American currencies against a weaker dollar, while investors looked to this week’s key U.S. inflation data for clues to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path. The MSCI index for Latin American currencies added 1.0%, while the dollar index slipped 0.1%. The real rose 0.8% against the greenback, with investors cautious ahead of a National Monetary Council meeting later this week, which could lead to possible changes in the inflation targets for 2023-24. “Increasing the inflation targets in the current unsettled fiscal policy environment is not warranted,” said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a note. “The upward drift in inflation expectations and potential pressure on the BRL are likely to lead to a higher projected inflation path. This implies that there will be no room to cut the policy rate in the very near-term and at the extreme may even require higher rates in order to align projected inflation to the new targets.” Economic Policy Secretary Guilherme Mello said on Friday that discussion on changing the inflation target may arise, although it had not been put on the agenda by the Finance Ministry. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been highly critical of the central bank, including the current level of the country’s interest rate, seen as too high, and the official inflation targets, seen as too low. Lula’s term has also been marred with political tensions, after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed key government buildings in January. Bolsonaro on Saturday said he plans to return to Brazil in the coming weeks. Currencies of top copper producers Chile and Peru gained 0.3% and 0.1% respectively, supported by firm copper prices and the softer dollar. The Mexican peso was flat against the dollar, while Colombia’s peso fell 0.6% as crude prices remained under pressure ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. inflation data. Regional stocks gained 1.5%, but Sao Paulo’s index was flat, with mining giant Vale sliding 1.1% as iron ore prices weakened. In Mexico, cement producer Cemex dropped 3.6% after posting an unexpected fourth-quarter loss. Elsewhere, India’s Adani Group stocks extended losses even as the conglomerate sought to reassure investors, saying it had strong cashflows and its business plans were fully funded. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1450 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1013.18 -0.05 MSCI LatAm 2235.64 1.54 Brazil Bovespa 108180.60 0.09 Mexico IPC 52628.98 0.28 Chile IPSA 5367.88 -0.46 Argentina MerVal 250648.99 0.301 Colombia COLCAP 1242.24 -0.27 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.1748 0.90 Mexico peso 18.6650 -0.11 Chile peso 795.5 0.19 Colombia peso 4823.85 -0.51 Peru sol 3.8391 0.00 Argentina peso 191.6500 -0.59 (interbank) Argentina peso 374 0.80 (parallel) (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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