EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX rises as dollar weakens amid US slowdown worries

By Shashwat Chauhan

March 11 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies firmed on Tuesday, as the dollar sagged globally amid growing concerns over a U.S. economic slowdown, while local equities remained under pressure after Monday's selloff.

Brazil's real BRL= firmed 0.5% against a weaker greenback, while rising copper prices aided currencies of top producers Chile and Peru.

Investors were also assessing a industrial production reading in Brazil which remained unchanged in January from December, undershooting forecasts.

The currency of the world's biggest producer of the red metal CLP= strengthened 0.6%, a day after a more than 1.5% drop. Peru's sol PEN= added 0.1% in light volumes.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans have stoked market volatility after the president late last week suspended the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods which had come into effect on March 4.

He had initially announced tariffs earlier this year and then postponed them by a month to early March.

Over the weekend, Trump declined to say whether the U.S. could face a recession, spurring a selloff in risk assets worldwide.

"The dollar's recent weakness highlights mounting economic uncertainty," said Lukman Otunuga, senior market analyst at FXTM. "With inflation expected to cool and potential rate cuts on the horizon, further volatility could be ahead."

Adding to the jittery mood, Trump on Tuesday doubled his planned tariff on all steel and aluminum products coming into the United States from Canada.

Mexico's peso MXN=, which has seen wild swings so far this year, was last trading at 20.35 per dollar.

U.S. consumer price data due on March 12 will be in the spotlight, as worries that Trump's tariffs could stoke inflation have led markets to expect greater policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year.

Traders currently see about 83-basis-points worth of easing by December, implying at-least three 25 bps cuts priced in throughout the year, according to LSEG data.

Local equities remained under pressure after a sharp selloff in the last session, with Brazil's Bovespa .BVSP off almost 1%.

Argentina's Merval .MERV bucked the trend to advance 2.2% after Argentina's government published a decree backing a new International Monetary Fund program.

The decree of necessity and urgency, formalized in the official gazette, is part of a strategy by libertarian President Javier Milei to ram his plan through Congress, where he only has a minority of seats and relies on conservative allies.

Elsewhere, Ghana's international bonds dropped after Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said the West African nation would give the economy 'shock therapy' by making significant spending cuts this year.

The 2035 maturity XS2893151287=TE led declines, down 1.16 cent to bid at 70.59 cents on the dollar, Tradweb data showed.

Russia's rouble RUB= hit its highest level in over six months despite Ukraine on Tuesday launching its biggest ever drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: