EMERGING MARKETS-Mexican peso rises after retail sales data, Banxico minutes

* Latam currencies up 0.8%, stocks rise 1.8% * Mexico March retail sales rise 0.4% from Feb * Brazil's federal tax revenue beat expectations * Mexico central bank sees inflation risks biased to upside - minutes By Bansari Mayur Kamdar May 26 (Reuters) - Currencies in Latin America rose on Thursday, with the Mexican peso strengthening for a third day after upbeat retail sales data even as the central bank meeting minutes highlighted persistently high inflation. The peso gained 0.3% after data showed retail sales in Mexico rose 0.4% in March from February. "The strength on the Mexican peso is related to this sequence of positive activity data lately and really adds to the story that the Mexican economy started 2022 more positively than everyone expected, in spite of the tightening cycle by Banxico and the Fed risks that continue to accumulate," said TS Lombard economist Wilson Ferrarezi. "The problem is that the positive data will face significant downside risks in the coming months." Most of the Mexican central bank's five board members believe the balance of risks for the trajectory of inflation has worsened again and remains biased to the upside, minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting showed. The Brazilian real rose 1% against the dollar. Brazil's federal tax revenue in April beat market expectations as it reached its fifth straight record, according to data. Meanwhile, the Bovespa index gained 1%, with state-run oil company Petrobras and healthcare company Hapvida leading gains. The Colombian peso edged up 0.2%, set to rise for its third straight session, as crude prices extended their rally on signs of tight supply. A weakness in the dollar also helped lift Latam currencies after minutes on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve's May meeting contained few surprises. The Chilean peso and Peruvian sol rose 0.2% each, but gains were capped by weakness in copper prices on persistent worries about COVID-19 lockdowns hitting economic growth in top metals consumer China. Elsewhere, South Africa's rand weakened 0.5% after data showed its producer price index rose 13.1% year on year in April, after rising 11.9% in March. The Russian rouble slumped around 6% against the dollar as the central bank cut interest rates to 11% at an off-schedule policy meeting and suggested that more cuts would follow as inflation risks subside. The Turkish lira pared losses and rose after its central bank held its policy rate at 14% for a fifth straight month as expected. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1450 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1023.26 0.36 MSCI LatAm 2449.30 1.75 Brazil Bovespa 111683.78 1 Mexico IPC 51980.83 0.51 Chile IPSA 5263.62 1.4 Argentina MerVal 93014.89 1.91 Colombia COLCAP 1505.73 0.96 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 4.7788 0.86 Mexico peso 19.7790 0.20 Chile peso 830.7 0.12 Colombia peso 3920.6 0.25 Peru sol 3.664 0.60 Argentina peso (interbank) 119.4100 -0.25 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)