Chile's peso fell in early Monday trade, pulled down by weaker US stock futures and dollar gains abroad, traders said. The peso fell 1.11 percent to 603.00/603.50 per dollar in early trade compared with Friday's close at 596.30/596.80, before paring losses slightly to trade 0.68 percent down at 600.40/601.00.
The peso has now appreciated nearly 7 percent against the dollar for the year-to-date, after depreciating 22.3 percent in 2008. "We are seeing US (share) futures with strong falls, which has infected the rest of the bourses," said one currency trader, asking not to be named in line with policy. "The dollar has also gained against important currencies like the euro, and so our currency has started the day weaker."