Mexico peso rebounds on opposition deficit, oil remarks

(Recasts; adds impact of PRI comments)

MEXICO CITY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Mexico's peso firmed sharply on Tuesday on news that Mexico's main opposition party does not plan to push to revise up the 2010 oil price forecast or raise the federal deficit next year.

The peso MXN= MEX01 firmed 0.57 percent to 13.2265 per U.S. dollar, rebounding from steep losses after a party spokesman told Reuters that both the deficit and oil price estimates could be raised, stoking bets of a ratings downgrade of Mexico's debt.

"This is totally crazy, but these new comments are helping the peso bounce back," said Alfredo Puig, a trader at Vector brokerage in Monterrey.

Sen. Manlio Beltrones, the leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in Mexico's Senate, said senators would not propose changes to sensitive budget parameters like oil prices and the federal deficit.

Beltrones said his party had not yet decided whether to back a measure passed in the lower house to raise the value-added tax rate.

Wall Street ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings have threatened to downgrade Mexico's debt rating if the country does not reduce its dependence on oil revenue, which accounts for more than a third of the federal budget.

Mexico's peso has lost 2.5 percent since senators suggested late last week they could reject the hikes.

The IPC stock index .MXX lost 2.28 percent to 29,587, hit by a slump in shares of index heavyweight America Movil following its earnings report.

America Movil (AMXL.MX) fell 3.68 percent to 29.56 pesos after the largest cellphone operator in Latin America posted a 51 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, in line with expectations.

"The report was fine, I see this as part of the sell-off in emerging markets in general," said Gerardo Sienra, a trader at Actinver brokerage in Mexico City.

U.S. data showing a surprise drop in consumer confidence in October boded poorly for a quick recovery in Mexico's battered export sector and suggested a global recovery could stall.

"The consumer confidence numbers show there are still some problems with this recovery story," Sienra said.

Shares in Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) lost 1.58 percent to 47.25 pesos. (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Leslie Adler)