EMERGING MARKETS-Latam currencies, stocks slump as investors reassess Fed prospects

* Peru's central bank cuts benchmark interest rate to 6% * Colombia inflation to fall at slower rate in coming months: policymaker * Brazil's services activity unexpectedly down in February * Argentina's monthly inflation below forecast * Latam stocks down 1.7%, FX down 0.8% (Updated at 3:45 p.m. EDT/1945 GMT) By Bansari Mayur Kamdar April 12 (Reuters) - Currencies and stock indexes in Latin America broadly fell on Friday, pressured by a rising dollar as investors continued to reprice expectations for U.S. monetary policy. The MSCI index for Latin American currencies fell 0.8% and was set to end the week 1% lower. A basket of regional stocks fell 1.7% on the day and lost 2.2% for the week. Both indexes were set for their worst week since mid-January as the U.S. dollar has soared this week, denting investor appetite for riskier emerging market assets. The dollar index jumped 1.7% this week after stronger than expected U.S. consumer prices data on Wednesday and commentary from Fed officials saying there is no rush to cut interest rates. "This is partly just a reflection of the fact that Latin American central banks have had a bit more space to ease and some of this modest weakness we've seen this week is a bit of a reversal of the incredible strength," said Rachel Ziemba, founder at Ziemba Insights. Leading regional losses, Mexico's peso dropped 1.3% against the dollar, the Colombian peso fell 0.9% and Chile's peso was down 1.2%. "We're entering into this important period for the (Mexican) peso with the election campaign and with the dynamics with the central bank," Ziemba said. Peru's sol slipped 0.4% after its central bank cut the benchmark interest rate to 6.00% on Thursday, marking a return to monetary easing in Peru. Data showed inflation in Argentina slowed to 11% on a monthly basis in March, below forecast, a day after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 10 points to 70%. The South American nation is battling inflation that is among the worst in the world, with rolling 12-month inflation at 287.9% in March. Argentina's peso was trading at 985 to the dollar on the informal parallel market. Brazil's real shed 0.6% against the greenback. Data showed activity in Brazil's services sector fell 0.9% in February from the previous month, missing analyst forecasts. El Salvador priced a six-year, $1 billion note yielding 12% to be issued next week, underwritten by Bank of America Securities, LSEG data showed. The broader emerging market currencies index fell 0.4% to its lowest level since January, while stocks shed 1.3%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Argentina's government (and a bot) say inflation is easing. Shoppers aren't so sure ** El Salvador more likely to get new IMF deal than multiple rating upgrades - Moody's ** Peru's central bank: new pension withdrawal unlikely to fan inflation Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1945 GMT: Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1041.29 -1.31 MSCI LatAm 2475.92 -1.69 Brazil Bovespa 125811.05 -1.24 Mexico IPC 56583.47 -0.43 Chile IPSA 6549.72 -2.63 Argentina MerVal 1243391.71 -1.264 Colombia COLCAP 1398.54 -1.18 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.1188 -0.57 Mexico peso 16.6452 -1.27 Chile peso 966.3 -1.20 Colombia peso 3854.54 -0.86 Peru sol 3.6929 -0.40 Argentina peso 866.5000 -0.06 (interbank) Argentina peso 985 1.52 (parallel) (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Lisa Mattakcla in Bengaluru, Editing by Josie Kao)