* Trump delays reciprocal tariffs * Brazil President hints at WTO complaint on Trump’s steel duties * China’s BYD holds mining rights in Brazil’s Lithium Valley, report says * MSCI Latam FX up 1%, stocks soar 2.3% By Purvi Agarwal and Johann M Cherian Feb 14 – Indexes tracking Latin American currencies and stocks were set to end the week higher on Friday, as investors cheered on a brief relief when U.S. President Donald Trump did not immediately impose reciprocal tariffs. Adding to a recent flood of tariff-related headlines, Trump tasked his economics team with devising plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country taxing U.S. imports on Thursday. Analysts expect this process to leave room for negotiations, as with India, where it agreed to start talks for an early trade deal and resolve their standoff over tariffs, promising to buy more American energy and military equipment. Mexico and Canada had also come to an agreement with the U.S. on border security earlier this month, after which the U.S. President paused tariffs on the neighbors for a 30-day period. MSCI’s index tracking LatAm currencies was up 1%, trading at its highest level since early October. The index was set for its sixth week of gains, its longest run since between March and May 2021. “We saw a sell off when it looked like there would actually be tariffs imposed on on Canada, Mexico and China, but now the market is relaxed and they’re waiting to see if tariffs will actually be implemented beyond the ones in China,” said Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba Insights. Brazil’s real strengthened 1.1% to touch levels not seen since November 2024. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hinted at a complaint at the World Trade Organization, or to tax U.S. products in a reaction to Trump’s steel tariffs, “It shows that Lula still cares about global multilateral institutions, but in practice it is unlikely to have a meaningful impact. So the bigger reaction will be in a direct retaliation,” Ziemba said. Investors also assessed a report that said Chinese electric carmaker BYD acquired mineral rights for two plots of land in a lithium-rich part of Brazil in 2023. Mexico’s peso, among the most vulnerable to tariff news, firmed 0.6% to touch a three-week high, while Colombia’s peso was flat. Colombia’s finance ministry said it will impose a 1% tax on the production of fossil fuels along with a 19% sales tax on online gambling, as the country strives to balance its accounts. The stocks gauge gained 2.3%, on track for its sixth consecutive week of gains. Brazil’s Bovespa added 2.3% to touch a two-month high as oil giant Petrobras soared 2.8%. Mexican equities was flat, limited by a 5.9% drop in Walmart’s Mexico and Central America unit as its fourth-quarter net profit slightly missed estimates. Colombia’s COLC and Argentina’s Merval rose 0.9% each. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1930 GMT: Latin American market prices from Reuters Eq Latest Daily % change ui ti es MS 1126.76 1.21 CI Em er gi ng Ma rk et s <. MS CI EF > MS 2122.28 2.26 CI La tA m <. MI LA 00 00 0P US > Br 127696.09 2.28 az il Bo ve sp a <. BV SP > Me 54193.53 0.06 xi co IP C <. MX X> Ch 7359.95 0.43 il e IP SA <. SP IP SA > Ar 2374986.87 0.903 ge nt in a Me rv al <. ME RV > Co 1548.81 0.86 lo mb ia CO LC <. CO LC > Cu Latest Daily % change rr en ci es Br 5.7017 1.13 az il re al Me 20.28 0.61 xi co pe so
Ch 939.25 0.37 il e pe so
Co 4132.01 0.02 lo mb ia pe so
Pe 3.699 0.67 ru so l
Ar 1056 0.09 ge nt in a pe so Ar 1200 2.04 ge nt in a pe so
