By Drew Benson Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Chile’s peso rose to its strongest level against the U.S. dollar in 16 months as the price of copper, of which the nation is the world’s top producer, advanced. The peso climbed 1.2 percent to 496.30 per dollar at 9:58 a.m. New York time, from 502 on Nov. 13. The currency touched 496.2, its strongest since July 2008. It has gained all but two days during November and during the past month has jumped 10.3 percent, the best performance among all currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Copper rose to a 13-month high as the dollar slid and Japan’s economy expanded more than forecast. Chile’s revenue from copper exports rose 24 percent to $2.48 billion in October from $2 billion a year earlier. Copper made up 53 percent of the total value of Chile’s exports last month compared to 42 percent a year ago. The peso is a “safe haven” among Latin American currencies, Barclays Plc said Nov. 13. The Chilean currency will probably strengthen to 475 per dollar in six months, Barclays said. Chile’s central bank last week refrained from announcing measures aimed at slowing the peso’s appreciation. The yield for a basket of Chile’s 10-year peso bonds in inflation-linked currency units, called unidades de fomento, rose three basis points to 3.19 percent, according to Bloomberg composite prices. Undervalued Currencies Citing surplus imbalances, Bank of America Corp. strategists said Latin American currencies are undervalued the most among regional currencies at 11.4 percent. The most undervalued currencies in Latin America are the Mexican peso, Colombian peso and the Peru sol, they wrote. Peru’s sol rose 0.1 percent to 2.8715 per dollar, from 2.8741 on Nov. 13. Argentina’s peso slid 0.1 percent to 3.8122 per dollar from 3.8081 at the end of last week. The yield on the country’s inflation-linked peso bonds due in 2033 slid nine basis points to 10.96 percent, according to Citibank Argentina. Colombian markets are closed today for a national holiday. To contact the reporters on this story: Drew Benson in Buenos Aires at abenson9@bloomberg.net;

Source