EMERGING MARKETS-Strong US job growth, falling commodity prices drag Latam stocks, FX

* US job growth surge casts pall on rate cut bets * Brazil's industrial production rises in December * Latam stocks down 1%, FX down 0.5% By Amruta Khandekar Feb 2 (Reuters) - Stocks and currencies in resources-rich Latin America were pummeled on Friday by a fall in commodity prices and a hotter-than-expected U.S. payrolls report which threw cold water on bets of early interest rate cuts. MSCI's index for Latin American currencies was down 0.5% at 1555 GMT, while a gauge of stocks was 1.0% lower, set for its biggest one-day percentage decline since Jan. 22. Treasury yields surged on Friday, putting the dollar on the front foot after data showed U.S. jobs growth surpassed expectations in January, leading traders to trim bets of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in May. This in turn weighed on prices of oil and metals, piling further pressure on assets in the commodity-heavy Latam region. Top copper producer Chile's peso led declines on Friday, slumping 1.3% and taking its weekly declines to 2.1%. The Peruvian sol, the currency of another leading copper exporter, also weakened to 3.831 per dollar. The Brazilian real fell 0.6% against the dollar, as prices of iron ore, one of the country's biggest exports, hit a two-week low on concerns about demand from China. The Bovespa index was down 1.1%, with miners such as heavyweight Vale and financial firms among the biggest drags. Brazil's industrial production rose for a fifth consecutive month in December, data from statistics agency IBGE showed on Friday, finally surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Both Latam stocks and currencies were on course for weekly declines as pushback from the Fed against rate cuts in March and China's prolonged economic troubles steered investors away from risky assets. Rate cuts in many Latin American currencies including Chile and Brazil this week have also reduced the appeal of the currencies that have benefited from sharp rate differentials with the United States. "Extended Fed uncertainty narrows the window of opportunity for EM (emerging markets) between the beginning of the easing cycle and the US election campaign," BofA strategists said in a note. "Mexico is crowded across asset classes and at risk of US election noise. Brazil is the only receiver where we still see (some) value." The Mexican peso and the Colombian peso fell 0.3% and 0.8% respectively as the currencies of the top oil exporters were hurt by lower crude prices. The Mexican peso was on course to eke out modest weekly gains, outperforming other major Latam currencies. Stocks in Mexico edged up 0.3%, those in Chile slipped 0.5%, while Argentinian stocks gained 1.0% a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) backed a set of reforms proposed by President Javier Milei's new administration. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1555 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 987.23 0.52 MSCI LatAm 2539.56 -0.97 Brazil Bovespa 127057.17 -1.11 Mexico IPC 58000.82 0.3 Chile IPSA 6023.66 -0.46 Argentina MerVal 1316086.06 1.046 Colombia COLCAP 1274.74 -0.23 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.9467 -0.65 Mexico peso 17.1248 -0.26 Chile peso 945.1 -1.49 Colombia peso 3923.75 -0.84 Peru sol 3.831 -0.83 Argentina peso 827.3000 -0.05 (interbank) Argentina peso 1160 3.02 (parallel) (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar Editing by Mark Potter)