LATAM WEEKAHEAD-Brazil retail sales to slow; Mexico to cut rates

NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Another set of weak economic indicators is on tap for Latin America this week, sharply contrasting with the region's strong market performance during the past five weeks.

Brazil's February retail sales numbers, due on Thursday, are among the highlights of the week, with some analysts forecasting they could post their weakest monthly performance in more than 6-1/2 years.

Brazil's retail sales grew 6.0 percent year-on-year in January, but in the following month supermarket sales decelerated while auto sales recovered only slightly, despite government tax breaks, said Barclays Capital. The bank forecasts retail sales to slow down to 4.0 percent in February.

IDEAglobal has a gloomier estimate: the firm is forecasting retail sales in Brazil to slow down to 1.6 percent in February, which would be their weakest monthly performance since Nov. 2003.

"The deterioration in retail sales would put consumer demand performance in line with the recent disappointing economic data, supporting widespread expectations that the Copom will remain on the aggressive track for the rest of the first half of 2009 and possibly even in the second half of the year," Alvise Marino, emerging markets analyst with IDEAglobal, wrote in a research note.

Another highlight for the week should be Friday's interest rate decision by the Mexican central bank. Economists expect that, given the recent positive performance of the peso, Mexican policymakers will be able to deliver another solid interest rate cut of 75 basis points, taking the benchmark rate to 6.0 percent.

The following are some of the key data points investors will be watching this week. All forecasts are compiled by Thomson Reuters unless noted differently.

Thursday, April 16:

- Colombia retail sales for February. Barclays expects a 5.5 percent drop year-on-year, following a 4.5 percent fall in January. IDEAglobal forecasts a 5.3 percent drop.