EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm assets mixed as Trump's Iran comments cool commodity rally

By Ragini Mathur and Twesha Dikshit

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Stocks and currencies across resource-rich Latin America were mixed on Thursday as commodity prices eased and the U.S. dollar strengthened, following President Donald Trump's more moderate comments regarding Iran and the Federal Reserve.

MSCI's Latin American equities index .MILA00000PUS was flat, while the corresponding currency gauge .MILA00000CUS was also little changed. Both indexes had reached multi-year highs this week, buoyed by rising oil and metal prices amid geopolitical tensions and a weaker dollar that had supported regional assets.

"EM asset allocation in general is still recovering from several years of U.S. exceptionalism," BNY's strategist Geoff Yu said in a note.

"The base for positioning in both fixed income and equities is so low that significant improvement need not come at the expense of U.S. or broader developed market performance."

On Thursday, oil prices tumbled from multi-month highs and gold retreated from record peaks as investor demand for safe-haven assets diminished on hopes that Trump was backing away from threats of U.S. military action against Iran.

Additionally, Trump stated in a Reuters interview on Wednesday that he has no plans to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is facing a Justice Department criminal investigation.

DOLLAR STRENGTH WEIGHS ON REGIONAL CURRENCIES

An index =USD tracking the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies rose 0.4%, recovering from pressure earlier in the week stemming from concerns over the Fed's independence.

Consequently, Latin American currencies broadly declined against the dollar. Oil exporter Colombia COP= saw its currency fall 0.2%, tracking lower crude prices.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday that he would meet with Trump on February 3, just days after being threatened with potential U.S. military action.

Chile's peso CLP= edged 0.7% lower as copper prices pulled back, while Brazil's real BRL= managed a 0.2% gain. Retail sales volumes in Latin America's largest economy rose 1.0% in November from October, providing some support.

On the equities front, benchmarks in Brazil .BVSP and Colombia .COLCAP were flat.

Meanwhile, those in Chile .SPIPSA and Peru .MXNUAMPESCPGPE were up 0.6% and 0.5%.

In trade developments, Mexico's Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday that the trilateral trade pact with the U.S. and Canada is already in the review phase, with the process expected to conclude by July.

Beyond Latin America, Kenya announced a preliminary trade agreement with China allowing 98.2% of its export goods duty-free market access, according to its trade ministry. The two countries have been holding discussions in search of a full bilateral trade deal.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1502 GMT: