EMERGING MARKETS-Latin American assets dip in holiday-affected session; Brazil's real leads losses

* Brazil's Gol down on report of potential Chapter 11 filing * Nigeria's inflation rate jumps to 27-year high * Latin American currencies down 0.2%, stocks off 0.1% (Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET/ 1930 GMT) By Amruta Khandekar and Shashwat Chauhan Jan 15 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks and currencies slipped on Monday, with the Brazilian real leading losses amid a drop in iron ore prices, though trading activity was muted in the absence of U.S. market participants due to a public holiday. MSCI's index for Latin American currencies fell 0.2% following three straight days of gains, while regional stocks shed 0.1%. Broader emerging market stocks and currencies were down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, in a quiet day. U.S. markets were closed to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Brazilian real slipped 0.2% against the dollar, as iron ore futures prices fell after top consumer China's decision to skip a widely expected interest rate cut. Brazilian stocks, however, shrug off initial losses and were last up 0.2%. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA was the top decliner on the benchmark index with an 7.2% 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 1.1%. 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. central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) could begin cutting interest rates. "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, referring to the Brazilian real. More than 72% of traders expect the Fed to start cutting rates in March, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. 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 0.1%, as the currency of the crude exporter was hurt by falling oil prices. The country's benchmark stocks index also fell 0.1%. Top copper producer Chile's peso was flat. Defying the broader trend, Colombia's peso climbed 0.6%, while the Peruvian sol was last up 0.3% after data showed the country's economy grew in November after a six-month contraction, beating analyst forecasts. Argentina's Merval equities index gained 1%, its first advance in three sessions. Elsewhere in emerging markets, Nigeria's inflation rate rose to its highest in more than 27 years in December, while Israel's inflation rate edged down to 3.0% in December, beating analysts' expectations. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 995.38 -0.09 MSCI LatAm 2599.47 0.01 Brazil Bovespa 131233.58 0.19 Mexico IPC 55553.82 -0.1 Chile IPSA 5995.96 0.46 Argentina MerVal 1042736.34 0.931 Colombia COLCAP 1291.63 0.05 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.8632 -0.15 Mexico peso 16.8794 -0.11 Chile peso 910.2 -0.03 Colombia peso 3907.09 0.11 Peru sol 3.6826 0.30 Argentina peso 817.6000 -0.18 (interbank) Argentina peso 1110 0.90 (parallel) (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Paul Simao)