EMERGING MARKETS-Latam assets lag EM peers, Brazilian airline stocks drop

* Brazil's Gol tanks on report of potential bankruptcy * Nigeria's inflation jumps to 27-year high * Latam FX down 0.4%, stocks off 0.6% By Amruta Khandekar Jan 15 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks and currencies underperformed emerging market peers on Monday, with assets in Brazil weighed down by a drop in iron ore prices as well as declines in airline stocks after a report on a potential bankruptcy. MSCI's index for Latin American currencies fell 0.4% against a firmer dollar following three straight days of gains while regional stocks shed 0.6%. Broader EM stocks and currencies were down 0.2%, respectively, in a quiet day with U.S. markets closed for a public holiday. The Brazilian real slipped 0.4% against the dollar, as iron ore futures prices fell after top consumer China's decision to skip a widely expected interest rate cut. That pressured shares of iron ore miners in Brazil, with heavyweight Vale slipping 1.2%. The broader Bovespa index slid 0.2%. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA was the top decliner on the benchmark index with an 10.3% drop, after a report said the airline is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States within the next month. Its peer Azul also lost 2.3%. Emerging market assets started the year on a soft footing while the dollar rallied as traders weighed economic data to assess when the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates. Some 73% of traders expect the Fed to start easing monetary conditions in March, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. "Global inflation risks still subsist...amid geopolitical risks, and hence a later first FOMC rate cut than thought by the market might pose short-run challenges to the risk assets like the BRL," Rabobank strategists said in a note. Along with monetary policy and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elections in several countries this year including Mexico are also likely to shape the outlook for risky assets. The Mexican peso was down 0.2%, as the currency of the leading crude exporter was hurt by falling oil prices. The country's benchmark stocks index also fell 0.2%. Top copper producer Chile's peso was down 0.3% against the dollar as prices of the red metal trickled lower. Defying the broader trend, the Peruvian sol and Colombian peso climbed 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. Argentina's MerVal equities index advanced 0.6%. Elsewhere, Nigeria's inflation rate rose to its highest in more than 27 years in December as food prices surged, piling more pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1448 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 994.63 -0.17 MSCI LatAm 2583.38 -0.61 Brazil Bovespa 130754.60 -0.18 Mexico IPC 0.00 -0.17 Chile IPSA 5964.99 -0.06 Argentina MerVal 1038906.87 0.56 Colombia COLCAP 1291.61 0.05 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.8749 -0.39 Mexico peso 16.9056 -0.26 Chile peso 912.9 -0.33 Colombia peso 3907.57 0.55 Peru sol 3.701 0.22 Argentina peso 817.6000 -0.18 (interbank) Argentina peso 1110 0.90 (parallel) (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Andrea Ricci)