* Turkey’s rates slashed despite soaring inflation

* South Africa lifts rate by 25 bps

* Chilean peso slumps ahead of weekend election

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Turkey’s lira plunged 6% on Thursday, breaching 11 to the dollar for the first time after another interest rate cut, while South Africa’s rand fell over 1% after a surprise rate hike was overshadowed by the lira’s decline.

The lira’s 6.4% slide to 11.3 saw most other emerging market currencies deepen losses. Russia’s rouble , which was flat on the day, slipped 0.5% to beyond 73 per dollar, while Mexico’s peso slid 1%.

South Africa’s rand weakened up to 1.6%.

Citing increased inflation risks, the South African Reserve Bank hiked the key rate by 25 basis points to 3.75% in a split-vote. While markets had deemed it too close to call, expectations were for the rate to be kept unchanged.

The currency cut some losses after the decision, but it proved brief, last trading at 15.68 to the greenback.

“The rand seems to have paid little attention to news of higher domestic interest rates announced...it would appear that the rand is instead finding sympathy with the Turkish lira which sees its central bank slashing lending rates despite inflationary concerns,” said Shaun Murison, senior market analyst ay IG, saying the rand could hit 16.05.

With Latin American currencies also well in the red, MSCI’s index of EM currencies dropped 0.2%. But worries of a contagion stemming from lira’s slide to broader emerging markets are limited said Cristian Maggio, head of portfolio strategy at TD Securities.

“Maybe the likes of South Africa and Russia may see flows diverted away from Turkey, but won’t likely cause more that a slight increase in volatility. I think Turkey’s crisis is quite self-contained.”

In Latam, Mexico’s peso dropped. Data Thursday showed Mexico’s economy expanded 1.9% in October from a year ago. In September, Latin America’s second-largest economy grew by some 5%. according to a preliminary estimate.

Chile’s peso slumped to 18-month lows, weighed by sliding copper prices amid jitters about presidential elections over the weekend. {MET/L}

Far-right lawyer Jose Antonio Kast and leftist lawmaker and former protest leader Gabriel Boric are the front-runners. Pollsters are split over which of the two would win in a potential run-off on Dec. 19.

EM stocks intensified losses to drop 0.9%, on track for their worst session in three weeks. A slide in Asian shares were carried on in Russia and Poland. In Latam, shares in Brazil and Chile rose more than 0.2% and 1% respectively.

Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

EMERGING MARKETS-Turkey's lira dives below 11 per dollar; rand dips