Stronger US dollar and geopolitical caution weigh on Latin American markets

Investors are weighing the brief escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran against signs that fragile ceasefire agreements in the Middle East are still holding. Most Latin American currencies showed sluggish performance, with the MSCI regional currency index remaining flat, but still facing losses for both the month and the quarter. The Central Bank of Bolivia announced an exchange rate of 9.73 Bolivianos per US dollar, indicating an official devaluation of 29%. In Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, the Bovespa stock index and the real both fell by 0.1%. Expand