By Susan Mathew May 15 (Reuters) - Surging oil prices buoyed currencies of oil exporters Mexico and Colombia on Friday, although rising U.S.-China trade tensions and dismal economic data owing to the coronavirus outbreak kept sentiment at bay. Extending gains to a their straight session, the Mexican peso rose 0.3%, while Colombia's currency firmed 0.5% as crude prices touched a 1-1/2-month high on signs demand was picking up, with China reporting increased refinery runs. Rising iron ore and copper prices also helped gains in commodity rich Latam. But on the coronavirus front, Mexico and Brazil recorded a record rise in the number of new cases on Thursday, as presidents of both countries pushed for lifting of lockdowns to restart economic activity. Data on Friday showed economic activity in Brazil fell at its fastest pace on record in March. The real currency, however, erased early losses to rise 0.9%. In Mexico, after some confusion regarding the date, the auto and mining industries, deemed essential, have been green lit to restart on Monday. On Thursday, Mexico's central bank cut rates as expected by 50 basis points to 5.5% and signaled more may be in the offing. "(The bank's statement) tells us that growth remains the key focus of policy, and while further depreciation in MXN continues to pose an upside risk to inflation, it will not dominate the policy discussion," wrote Sacha Tihanyi, deputy head of emerging markets strategy at TD Securities. The firm expects 50 basis point cuts at the next three meetings, followed by two more 25 bps cuts to leave the policy rate on hold at 3.5% by year end. Denting broader sentiment, Washington moved to block shipments of semiconductors from global chipmakers to China's Huawei Technologies. This comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could go so far as to cut ties with China. Meanwhile, data from the two nations showed retail sales fell more than expected in April, reinforcing the economic damage from the pandemic. Among notable movers in stocks, Brazilian meat processor JBS weighed the most on the Bovespa after saying it faces 'enormous volatility' amid the pandemic, while pulp and aper company Suzano slipped after reporting a wider than expected quarterly loss. Oil prices kept Petrobras shares afloat, but the firm took a 65.3 billion real ($11.2 billion) impairment on its exploration and production assets on Thursday, leading to a quarterly net loss. Brazil's government on Thursday said it is considering 12 billion reais ($2.06 billion) in emergency loans to help power, Reuters reported. CPFL Energia, Energisa SA rose more than 1%, while Equatorial Energia, Eletrobras and state-owned Cemig fell between 0.1% and 1.3%. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1413 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 902.29 0.16 MSCI LatAm 1578.48 2.23 Brazil Bovespa 79270.89 0.33 Mexico IPC 36014.73 -0.22 Chile IPSA 3667.54 0.71 Argentina MerVal - - Colombia COLCAP 1054.48 0.21 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.7655 0.91 Mexico peso 23.7979 0.26 Chile peso 821 0.01 Colombia peso 3925.17 0.47 Peru sol 3.4388 0.26 Argentina peso 67.7200 -0.12 (interbank) (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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