By Bruno Federowski
SAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies seesawed on Wednesday as traders awaited the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting that could offer clues on the pace of future U.S. interest rate hikes.
Currencies from Brazil , Mexico and Chile treaded water, while the Colombian peso weakened 0.8 percent.
Traders have been anxiously awaiting new hints over the Fed's strategy in coming months following an unexpectedly strong increase in wages, which stoked concerns of inflationary pressure.
"Investors expect the Fed to strike a firmer tone over the outlook for interest rates going forward," Banco Bradesco economists wrote in a note to clients.
Higher U.S. rates could draw capital away from higher-yielding but riskier emerging markets.
Stock markets in Latin America were mostly higher, with Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index rising for a sixth straight session.
Shares of Centrais El?(C)tricas Brasileiras SA jumped for a second day in a row and were the biggest gainers on the index on investor optimism over plans to privatize the state-owned power utility.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1720 GMT:Stock indexes Latest DailyYTD pct
pct change
changeMSCI Emerging Markets 1,211.50 1.42 3.11MSCI LatAm 3,125.87 0.3310.16Brazil Bovespa 86,496.15 0.8113.21Mexico IPC 48,610.82-0.15-1.51Chile IPSA 5,681.17 0.14 2.09Chile IGPA 28,531.32 0.14 1.97Argentina MerVal 32,868.97 0.13 9.32Colombia IGBC 11,734.79 0.14 3.20Venezuela IBC 5,260.54 1.59 -83.41
Currencies LatestDailyYTD pct
pct change
changeBrazil real 3.2576-0.09 1.71Mexico peso 18.6675 0.15 5.53Chile peso 594.8 0.02 3.34Colombia peso 2,881.81-0.77 3.48Peru sol 3.249 0.06-0.37Argentina peso (interbank)19.9000-0.10-6.53 Argentina peso (parallel) 20.05 0.55-4.09 (Reporting by Bruno Federowski, editing by G Crosse)
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