Brazil, Chile: Latin America Bond and Currency Preview

By Jamie McGee

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic reports may influence trading in Latin American local bonds and currencies today. Bond yields and exchange rates are from a previous session.

Brazil: Inflation, as measured by the Getulio Vargas Foundation's IGP-DI index, slowed to 1.3 percent in July from 1.89 percent in June, according to the median estimate of 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

The foundation is scheduled to release the data at 7 a.m. New York time.

The real fell 0.8 percent to 1.5746 per dollar.

The yield on the country's zero-coupon bonds due January 2010 fell 8 basis points, 0.08 percentage point, to 14.76 percent, according to Banco Votorantim SA.

Chile: Economic growth will accelerate in the second half of the year, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said.

``The economy is taking off and we are going to have a second half that will be better than the first,'' Velasco told reporters today in Melipilla, Chile.

The peso weakened 0.4 percent to 512.75 per dollar.

The yield for a basket of five-year peso bonds in inflation- linked currency units fell 3 basis points to 2.86 percent, according to Bloomberg composite prices.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jamie McGee in New York at jmcgee8@bloomberg.net