EMERGING MARKETS-Latam FX mixed, stocks slump after Trump's latest tariff salvo

By Ragini Mathur and Purvi Agarwal

July 9 (Reuters) - Latin American currencies were mixed while stocks declined on Wednesday as investors assessed steep copper tariffs out of the United States and awaited President Donald Trump's latest announcements in his trade war.

Trump said on Tuesday he would impose 50% tariffs on imported copper and soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

The peso currency of the world's largest copper producer Chile CLP= was down 0.7%. Chile is the biggest copper supplier to the U.S., though this accounts for less than 7% of its total refined copper exports.

"The copper tariff will be negative for trade flows and the Chilean peso in the longer run because they will hamper domestic activity, exports, capital inflows to Chile," said Andres Abadia, chief Latam economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"But the front running ahead of the implementation could be a net positive for the Chilean economy and for the currency."

Chile's president said it had yet to formally hear about the extent of the new tariffs and the products they included, according to local media site Emol.

Brazil, among the top copper exporters, saw its real BRL= fall 0.3% while Peru's sol PEN= was down 0.1%.

A Reuters poll showed that Brazil's monthly inflation is expected to have slowed for the fourth time in a row in June.

South Africa's rand ZAR= also slipped 0.2%. The country could take a hit as it is heavy on precious metal and mineral production.

Markets were also bracing for more trade-related announcements, with Trump signaling at least seven could come on Wednesday morning.

Countries and trade blocs are scrambling to reach agreements with the Trump administration to avoid substantial tariffs, following the president's revised deadline of August 1.

Resource-rich Latin American countries, hitherto regarded as comparative safe havens, have been brought under fire by the copper tariffs.

On the flip side, the Colombian peso COP= gained 0.3% against the dollar, outperforming peers, tracking oil prices that were at more than two-week highs.

The Mexican peso MXN= was up 0.2%. Data showed that the country's annual inflation rate eased in June after rising for four straight months, though core prices continued to climb.

MSCI's Latin American currency index .MILA00000CUS still gained 0.2% on the day, while the stocks gauge .MILA00000PUS was down 0.4%.

Heavyweight Brazilian stocks .BVSP fell 0.6%, while Mexico's shares .MXX were down 0.5%, leading declines among peers.

Argentina's markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Elsewhere in emerging markets, the June minutes of Hungary's central bank showed that it expected inflation to stay above the bank's 2% to 4% tolerance band for the rest of the year.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies around 1433 GMT: