Latin American stocks slump to 6-month lows on commodity prices

NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks slumped to their lowest levels in six months overall on Monday, as commodity prices continued to fall and local currencies weakened, encouraging investors to take profits.

The Morgan Morgan Stanley Capital International Latin American stock index .MILA00000PUS fell 3.30 percent, and is now 25 percent off its record peak seen in late May, after a huge rally of more 500 percent in the past five years.

The region's economy is heavily dependent on exports of soybeans, coffee, sugar, copper, and crude oil, but on international markets soybean prices have fallen 24 percent in the past two months, copper prices are down 14 percent, while crude oil has slumped 18 percent.

Copper prices for example slid to six-month lows on Monday, while prices of zinc, nickel and other industrial metals also declined on worries about weak demand from top consumers China and the United States.

Investors are now concerned that the U.S. economic slowdown is affecting demand in developed economies in Europe and Asia as well as in some emerging market economies.

Brazilian stocks fell as the ongoing slide in commodity prices sparked a sell-off in miner Vale and local steelmakers such as Gerdau.

Sao Paulo's main stock index .BVSP fell 3.29 percent to 54,720.25, taking this month's losses to more than 8.0 percent.

The gloom filtered through to the currency market where Brazil's real BRBY, weakened 0.44 percent to 1.62 per U.S. dollar.

Traders say investors have been taking money out of Brazil to cover losses elsewhere, while uncertainty over the global economy has begun to put investors off riskier assets.

At the stock exchange, Vale (VALE5.SA), the second-heaviest weighted stock in the Bovespa, tumbled 4.39 percent to 34.61 reais.

Brazilian steelmakers fell on speculation that lower demand for metals may prevent companies from implementing aggressive price rises next year. Gerdau (GGBR4.SA) tumbled 5.06 percent to 28.91 reais, while CSN CSNA3.SA> fell 3.92 percent to 52.93 reais and Usiminas (USIM5.SA) lost 4.06 percent to 57.65 reais.

State-run energy company Petrobras (PETR4.SA), the most heavily weighted stock in the Bovespa index, dropped 2.53 percent to 32.70 reais. The company is expected to report an 18 percent increase in second-quarter profits to 8 billion reais, according to the median estimate of six analysts in a Reuters survey. Petrobras will release its results later on Monday.

Mexican stocks ended lower with the IPC stock market index .MXX off 0.70 percent at 26,943.69 points, dragged down by losses at cell phone operator America Movil.

"It's not that the U.S. is getting better, but that the economy of the rest of the world does not look as strong," said Benito Berber, an economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets.

Miner Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), one of the world's biggest copper producers, fell 5.32 percent to 15.49 pesos as copper prices fell sharply.

Top retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) fell 1.38 percent to 40.01 pesos.