A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Peru on Thursday near the city of Pucallpa in the Amazonian rain forest, US seismologists said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 12.43am (05H23 GMT) and had a depth of 152 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The quake's epicentre was located 54 kilometres northeast of Pucallpa, and 549 kilometres northeast of Lima.

Pucallpa is the capital of the Ucayali region in the centre and east of the country.

The magnitude reading was based on the Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.