EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil's real at 4-month lows as Latam currencies weaken

By Susan Mathew March 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's real led a slide in Latin American currencies on Wednesday, on downbeat economic data and worries about the government's economic agenda. The real was down 1.2% at 5.7344 to the dollar, at four-month lows, losing ground for a fifth straight session. Private sector business activity in Brazil shrank in February for the second month in a row, a survey showed, while separate data showed that the economy contracted 4.1% in 2020 - the worst drop in decades, but not as much as originally expected. "There is strong evidence to suggest that the recovery has slowed so far this year, and the worsening COVID-19 outbreak is casting a dark cloud over the outlook for the next few months at least," said William Jackson, chief EM economist at Capital Economics. Brazil's real has suffered more than other emerging currencies - down 9.4% this year compared with a 0.1% slide in the broader EM currencies index. The central bank has had to sell over $5 billion since last Thursday in the spot market to support the currency. Worries about the fiscal outlook and government interference have weighed on the real over and above external factors such as the rising bond yields that hammered riskier assets last week. Brazil's Bovespa share index fell 0.4% as shares in the state oil firm Petrobras slipped after it said four board members would step down, following the removal of its chief executive by President Jair Bolsonaro last week. As the dollar strengthened, emerging market currencies such as the Turkish lira, Russian rouble and the South African rand reversed earlier gains to trade lower. Mexico's peso fell almost 1%. The Mexican Senate passed a bill on Tuesday aimed at strengthening the state utility CFE which angered private businesses and could cause disputes with some of Mexico's main trading partners. Meanwhile, the state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said on Tuesday that it had ended a contract with the credit ratings agency Fitch, which has downgraded Pemex bonds to speculative or 'junk' grade. Chile's peso hit a near one-month low, while Colombia's currency slid to a four-month low. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1413 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1380.41 1.53 MSCI LatAm 2207.82 -1.14 Brazil Bovespa 111142.92 -0.36 Mexico IPC - - Chile IPSA 4716.79 -0.07 Argentina MerVal - - Colombia COLCAP - - Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.7351 -1.21 Mexico peso 20.8088 -1.02 Chile peso 733.1 -0.64 Colombia peso 3669.7 -0.41 Peru sol 3.6677 -0.05 Argentina peso 90.2200 -0.07 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey)