Argentina, Chile, Mexico: Latin America Bond, Currency Preview

By Jamie McGee

Sept. 4 (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.

Argentina: The government will buy back as much as 200 million pesos ($66 million) worth of local bonds today, the Economy Ministry said in a statement.

The buyback is a part of a plan the government announced last month after bonds plunged on concern tax revenue growth is slowing and inflation is accelerating.

The peso rose 0.03 percent to 3.0370 per dollar.

The yield on the country's inflation-linked peso bonds due in December 2033 rose 8 basis points, or 0.08 percentage point, to 9.92 percent, according to Citigroup Inc.'s unit in Argentina.

Chile: The central bank will raise its overnight lending rate a half percentage point to 8.25 percent at a policy meeting today, according to 17 of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The other four predict a quarter-point increase.

The central bank is scheduled to announce its rate decision at 6 p.m. New York time.

The peso strengthened 0.2 percent to 515.26 per dollar.

The yield for a basket of five-year peso bonds in inflation- linked currency units fell 8 basis points to 2.97 percent, according to Bloomberg composite prices.

Mexico: The consumer confidence index fell to 87.2 in August from 88.4 in July, according to the median estimate of 11 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

The National Institute of Statistics is scheduled to release the data at 3:30 p.m. New York time.

The peso fell 0.3 percent to 10.3952 per dollar.

The yield on Mexico's benchmark 10 percent bonds due December 2024 was little changed at 8.43 percent, according to Banco Santander SA.

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