SAO PAULO, Sept 18 The Brazilian real fell to a
13-year low on Friday as political and economic problems at home
outweighed bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve may still take a
while to raise interest rates.
    The real dropped to as much as 3.93 per dollar, its
weakest level since October 2002, as investors fretted about a
domestic political crisis that is hampering President Dilma
Rousseff's ability to approve crucial austerity measures.
    It last traded at 3.92 per dollar, 1 percent weaker on the
day, while the Mexican peso gained 0.3 percent. Other key
Latin American currencies were steady. 
    Many emerging market currencies have been strengthening
since the Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday,
supporting appetite for risk globally. Doubts about whether the
Fed would raise rates this year continued to rise on Friday.
 
    In Brazil, however, investors saw no end to a political
crisis that has included calls for the impeachment of Rousseff.
They fear that, as a result of the crisis, other ratings
agencies could downgrade the country to junk, following in the
footsteps of Standard & Poor's. 
    "A weaker dollar could bring some relief to the real, but
the political noise ... should keep markets jittery and volatile
here," said Joao Paulo de Gracia Correa, a trader with SLW
brokerage in Brazil.
    
    Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1740 GMT:
    
 Stock indexes                                daily %    YTD %
                                               change   change
                                   Latest              
 MSCI Emerging Markets                828.93     0.17   -13.47
 MSCI LatAm                          2004.84    -1.89   -25.09
 Brazil Bovespa                     47459.02    -2.25    -5.10
 Mexico IPC                         43457.78    -0.76     0.72
 Chile IPSA                          3796.69    -0.27    -1.41
 Chile IGPA                         18538.51    -0.12    -1.76
 Argentina MerVal                  10639.529    -1.48    24.02
 Colombia IGBC                       9555.89    -1.37   -17.87
 Venezuela IBC                      13263.35    -2.02   243.72
                                                              
 Currencies                                   daily %    YTD %
                                               change   change
                                      Latest           
 Brazil real                          3.9226    -1.05   -32.25
 Mexico peso                         16.5563     0.32   -10.95
 Chile peso                           678.75     0.00   -10.66
 Colombia peso                          2979     0.01   -19.84
 Peru sol                             3.1941    -0.34    -6.73
 Argentina peso (interbank)           9.3775    -0.03    -8.82
                                                       
 Argentina peso (parallel)             15.81     0.63   -11.45