The Brazilian and Mexican currencies weakened for a third day on Friday on concerns that US President-elect Donald Trump's policies could make the Federal Reserve increase rates by more than expected and bring about a global trade shock.
The Mexican peso has become a lightning rod for market anxiety after Trump's election victory due to fears about the future of Mexican-US trade relations. Trump has vowed to build a border wall between Mexico and the United States, and threatened to dump the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The currency weakened nearly 4 percent overnight to a fresh record low over 21 pesos per dollar, heading for its worst weekly performance since 2008, and it reacted negatively when Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade announced no new measures to stem the slide.
Risk aversion hammered other emerging markets as traders feared higher US interest rates could drain capital away from high-yielding assets.
The real fell as much as 3.9 percent to 3.49 reais, before paring most of the losses before the close.
Many investors believe inflation could spike if Trump follows through with pledges of heavy infrastructure spending, triggering a response by the Fed.
The Chilean peso, whose performance tends to closely follow copper prices, weakened over 1.9 percent, less than its main peers.