Bud nears hurricane off Mexico's Pacific coast - NHC

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical storm Bud is close to becoming a hurricane off Mexico's southwestern Pacific coast, where the government has issued a storm warning, the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday.

Located about 410 miles (655 km) southwest of the major Pacific port of Manzanillo, Bud is moving northward at around 6 mph (9 km/h) with maximum sustained winds reaching almost 70 mph (110 km/h) and stronger gusts, the Miami-based center said.

Bud should become a hurricane on Thursday and start weakening by Friday, the center said. Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the coast by late Friday, it added.

Mexico's government has issued a tropical storm watch along the coast from Punta San Telmo to La Fortuna, the NHC said.

Mexico has no major oil installations on the Pacific coast.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Mohammad Zargham)