By Susan Mathew

July 5 (Reuters) - Emerging market currencies were battered on Tuesday as the dollar reigned supreme, and a gauge of eastern European stocks slumped to an all-time low after a surge in European gas prices heightened global recession worries.

MSCI's index of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS hit 20-month lows with resource-rich Latin America's currencies joining the sell-off.

Crude exporter Colombia's peso COP= hit an all-time low of 4,253.60, while top copper producer Chile's peso CLP= slumped to new lows of 946.20-a-dollar hit by falling prices of oil and the red metal respectively.

Mexico's peso MXN= and Brazil's real BRBY slumped 1.3% with the latter hitting five-month lows as May industrial output rose less than expected.

European gas prices surged after flows from Russia dipped and strikes at Norwegian oil and gas infrastructure added to concerns over supply, exacerbating fears over spiralling inflation and slowing economic growth.

"Slowdown fears are now arguably the main driver of currencies globally, perhaps even more so than central bank interest rate expectations," said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury.

Central and eastern European currencies tumbled against the dollar which surged as the euro tanked, while MSCI's index of eastern European stocks .MIME00000PUS dropped 4.8% - their worst session since early March.

The broader emerging market stocks index .MSCIEF extended losses to a fifth straight session.

After having hit 50 per dollar last week, Russia's rouble RUBUTSTN=MCX tumbled to around 61 per dollar, while Turkey's lira TRY= weakened more than 1%.

PINK TIDE WORRIES

Argentina's official peso ARS=RASL gave up another 0.2% after a turbulent Monday when investors fretted over policy implications after Silvina Batakis, widely viewed as close to the hard left-wing of the ruling Peronist coalition, was appointed as the new economy minister.

The country's popular black market peso had dropped about 8% on Monday.

Argentina is a top global exporter of soybeans, corn and wheat, and farm sector leaders in the country said they were worried about Batakis' close ties with Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who pushed higher export taxes on agricultural goods when she was president from 2007-2015.

Latam bankers expect a drop in M&A and equity deals to intensify through the end of the year as Brazil goes through its presidential elections in October with leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead in polls.

Stocks in Latam also fell on Tuesday, with Mexico's IPC index .MXX sliding over 2%, while Argentina's Merval index .MERV recovered 2% after Monday's slip.

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1414 GMT: Stock indexes

Latest

Daily %

change MSCI Emerging Markets

988.33

-0.45 .MSCIEF

MSCI LatAm

1970.28

-3.24 .MILA00000PUS

Brazil Bovespa

96993.23

-1.64 .BVSP

Mexico IPC

47018.48

-2.12 .MXX

Chile IPSA

4947.18

-0.84 .SPIPSA

Argentina MerVal

90964.37

2.059 .MERV

Colombia COLCAP

1334.84

-1.7 .COLCAP

Currencies

Latest

Daily %

change Brazil real

5.3920

-1.26 BRBY

Mexico peso

20.5350

-1.34 MXN=D2

Chile peso

944.6

-1.91 CLP=CL

Colombia peso COP=

4251.05

-1.30 Peru sol

3.845

-0.78 PEN=PE

Argentina peso

126.2000

-0.18 (interbank) ARS=RASL

Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Alistair Bell