Latam currencies slide on weak US job data

Latin American currencies weakened against the US dollar on Friday as weak jobs data in the United States and doubts about debt reduction in Italy and Greece fed concern over the impact of a slowing world economy. US jobs growth halted in August, the Labour Department said, tilting economic expectations toward recession rather than growth.
At the same time, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet pressured Italy's government to complete an austerity program needed to boost confidence in the country's debt, while divisions widened between Greece and the European Union and International Monetary Fund over its compliance with conditions for new debt support.
Brazil's real weakened 1.09 percent to 1.6335 to the US dollar. The announcement that Brazilian gross domestic product growth slowed 3.1 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier added to concern about the world economy. The real also weakened in the futures market, suggesting the currency has further to slide. The November 1 dollar contract, reflecting dollar-real exchange rate expectations for the end of October, showed the real slipping 1.86 percent, its biggest one-day slide since May, to 1.6565 to the dollar.
Mexico's peso weakened 0.45 percent to 12.3650, its first decline in three days. While the losses trim this week's peso gains against the dollar to 0.93 percent, it was still the best weekly performance in two months. The Mexican peso will likely weaken to the 12.45 to 12.50 range in the next few days, said Ramon Cordoba, a currency trader at Base, a bank in Monterrey, Mexico.
The peso should strengthen by the end of the year to a trading range of 11.8000 to 12.2000 to the dollar, Ausina said. Chile's peso weakened 0.11 percent to 459.70 to the dollar, while Colombia's peso fell 0.14 percent to 1,782.00 and Peru's sol was little changed at 2.7290 to the dollar. Argentina's official peso, which is subject to regular central bank intervention, was little changed from Thursday at 4.2250 to the dollar. The unofficial Argentine peso, or parallel rate, weakened 0.34 percent to 4.4300 to the dollar.