Latin American stocks end week at 8-month highs as commodity prices boost recovery hopes

Latin American stocks end week at 8-month highs as commodity prices boost recovery hopes

(Souce Yahoo Finance)
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Latin American stocks were mixed Friday but ended the week at eight-month highs as rising commodity prices boosted outlooks for some of the region's top exporters and suggested a deeper economic recovery.
Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa index gained 0.3 percent to 53,198, its highest close since Sept. 3, with shares in steel maker Gerdau SA climbing 1 percent. The Porto Alegre-based company comprises about 3.7 percent of the index.

Brazil's currency strengthened 2 percent to 1.97 reals to the U.S. dollar, ending the day below the 2-real mark for the first time since Oct. 1. The currency has gained about 28 percent since its three-year low in December as the government sold billions in dollar reserves to weaken demand for the greenback.

"The sustained appreciation trend is not only a reflection of Brazil's more optimistic outlook, but also is common to many other currencies in Latin America," Barclays Capital said in a note to investors. "As risk aversion dwindles, the dollar's role as a safe haven has tended to come down and we have seen a joint pickup in investments in emerging markets."

The real's outlook is so strong that Brazil's central bank has resumed buying dollars, and analysts say it may not let the dollar slip much below the 2-real mark in order to keep Brazilian exports more competitive. Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes this week warned that a less than 2-real dollar may hurt Brazilian crop sales.
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