(Updates prices, adds Trump comments)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Mexico's peso seesawed against the dollar on Thursday as U.S. officials sent mixed signals on the greenback, while Argentina's Merval stock index broke the 35,000-point mark for the first time.
Several emerging currencies hit multi-year highs against the greenback, with the dollar index languishing at more than three-year lows after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin departed from traditional U.S. currency policy, saying "obviously a weaker dollar is good for us." The Mexican peso appreciated by more than 1 percent to 18.3025 earlier in the day before U.S. President Donald Trump said Mnuchin had been misinterpreted and that he ultimately wanted the dollar to be strong. Trump's comments helped the dollar to pare losses against major currencies, and the Mexican peso reversed its gains, closing down almost 0.6 percent against the greenback.
Elsewhere, Colombia's peso added to Wednesday's 1.48 percent gain against the dollar to reach its strongest level since July 2015, while the Chilean peso closed under 600 per dollar for the first time since May 2015.
Brazilian markets were closed for the Sao Paulo anniversary holiday but are expected to soon extend a rally that boosted the benchmark Bovespa stock index to an all-time high above 83,000 points on Wednesday.
That advance came after an appeals court upheld a corruption conviction of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Although the conviction could derail his plans to run again for the presidency, Lula, who is leading opinion polls for the October election, said on Thursday he would appeal the decision.
Brazilian and Argentine shares have led a Latin American equities rally to start the year that has MSCI's gauge of the region's stocks set for its largest January gains since 2006.
The Merval closed up 0.55 percent at 35,141.72 points.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2145 GMT:Stock indexesLatest DailyYTD pct
pct change
changeMSCI Emerging Markets1,263.450.37 9.06 MSCI LatAm 3,201.951.0113.22Mexico IPC 50,777.900.27 3.09Chile IPSA 5,811.540.23 4.44Chile IGPA 29,216.540.23 4.42Argentina Merval 35,141.720.5516.88Colombia IGBC 12,307.20 -0.06 8.24
Currencies Latest DailyYTD pct
pct change
changeBrazil real 3.14700.35 5.28Mexico peso 18.6100 -0.57 5.85Chile peso 598.60 0.7 2.68Colombia peso 2,7900.84 6.88Peru sol 3.2100.09 0.84Argentina peso (interbank)19.560.38-4.91 Argentina peso (parallel) 19.910.35-3.42 (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Chris Reese)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.