EMERGING MARKETS-Brazilian real lifts Latam FX to highest level since 2018

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      EM governments sell record $44 bln of bonds in Jan


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      Brazil c.bank eyes high rates for longer


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      IMF tells Argentina not to risk 'scarce' reserves


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      Latam currencies add 1.4%, stocks up 1.0%



    By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
       Feb 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's real rose on Thursday after
its central bank said overnight it was considering holding
interest rates at a six-year high for longer than market
expectations, while the broader index rallied to multi-year
highs as Federal Reserve's messaging weakened the dollar.
    The real gained 1.4% by 1520 GMT, touching its
highest level since June.
    "It's a reaction to the Fed slowing the pace of tightening
and the relatively hawkish central bank meeting in Brazil
yesterday, in which the policymakers suggested that monetary
policy will stay tight for a while yet," said Kimberley
Sperrfechter, emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
    "That's shifted interest rate differentials in favour of the
real and supported the currency."
    Brazil's bank's rate-setting committee, known as Copom, left
its Selic benchmark interest rate at 13.75% in Wednesday's
policy decision, as expected, while the accompanying statement
raised concerns about fiscal risks under recently inaugurated
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
    "Going forward, for now, we maintain our expectation that
the Copom is most likely sitting on their hands throughout 23H2,
holding the Selic rate at 13.75%," said strategists at Rabobank
in a note.
    Currencies in Latin America gained 1.4%,
hitting their highest level since April 2018, as Fed chair
Jerome Powell's overnight message that a "disinflationary"
process was taking hold in the world's largest economy weighed
on the U.S. dollar.
    The Mexican peso added 0.2% and Colombia's peso
 jumped 1.0% supported by firm crude prices and a weakened
dollar.
    Chile's peso added 0.8% to 779.83, while the Peruvian
sol gained 1.1% against the dollar.
    The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday sent a thinly
veiled warning to Argentina that it must not undermine targets
to rebuild its "scarce" foreign currency reserves following a $1
billion bond buyback by the indebted nation.
    A roaring start to the year for debt issuance has also
helped lift sovereign emerging market bond sales to a record $44
billion peak in January with investors keen to deploy piles of
cash.
    Elsewhere in emerging markets, the Czech National Bank (CNB)
left interest rates unchanged at a more than two-decade high, as
the economy tipped into a mild recession amid persistent
double-digit inflation.
    India's Adani Group's market losses swelled to more than
$100 billion, sparking worries about their potential systemic
impact.
    Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1520 GMT:
        Stock indexes                  Latest       Daily %
                                                     change
 MSCI Emerging Markets                    1047.18        0.42
 MSCI LatAm                               2351.00        0.92
 Brazil Bovespa                         112115.78        0.04
 Mexico IPC                              55032.52        0.02
 Chile IPSA                               5319.20        0.21
 Argentina MerVal                       253824.97         1.1
 Colombia COLCAP                          1261.33       -0.56

           Currencies                  Latest       Daily %
                                                     change
 Brazil real                               4.9927        1.39
 Mexico peso                              18.5599        0.22
 Chile peso                                 778.9        0.78
 Colombia peso                             4576.1        0.48
 Peru sol                                  3.8198        0.53
 Argentina peso (interbank)              187.6000       -0.17

 Argentina peso (parallel)                    373        1.07

 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru
Editing by Nick Zieminski)