Colombian peso jumps 1%; Chile's peso rallies ahead of central bank meeting

Latin American currencies rallied on Tuesday as the dollar sank to three-week lows, with the Colombian peso's 1% jump to seven-week highs leading the pack.

Colombia's central bank on Monday sold the government $2.79 billion - the entire amount of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights allocation to the country.

The sale was in exchange for local TES treasury bonds, and was aimed at helping shore up the country's liquidity and budget for this year and next.

"This is a positive development for Colombia and is in line with the government's efforts to tackle its fiscal weaknesses," said Credit Suisse analyst Alberto J Rojas.

The Colombian peso is set to post its best month so far this year, up about 2.3%.

The dollar was trading near three-week lows against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as investors looked to US jobs figures later this week for clues on stimulus taper timing.

Latam currencies firm, Colombian central bank meeting eyed

Chile's peso was set for its best session in three weeks as copper prices rose.

Chile's central bank is to meet later in the day and is expected to raise the key interest rate to 1.0% in August after the bank hiked by 25 basis points last month.

The rate is seen hitting 1.5% in five months, a Reuters poll earlier this month showed.

Mexico's peso rose 0.3%, but was on course to end August down 1.1% as rising coronavirus cases dulled sentiment.

Brazil's real hit over three-week highs, as falling unemployment aided sentiment. The currency is on course to finish the month up about 1%.

Among stocks, Mexico's IPC index hit all-time highs, up 0.3%, with financial stock Grupo Financiero Banorte's near 2% rise leading gains.

Mexican conglomerate Femsa rose 0.6% following news that its US subsidiary Envoy Solutions would acquire Daycon Products Co, a specialty distributor.

Stocks in Brazil were up 0.2%, while those in Chile and Colombia fell, with the former breaking a four-session winning streak.