Mexican peso pares losses, remains volatile on US recession fears
Adds graphic, update prices throughout, adds comment in paragraphs 8-9
By Noe Torres and Rodrigo Campos
MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) -The Mexican peso touched its weakest against the U.S. dollar in nearly two years before paring much of the losses back, as concerns the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession added to recent peso weakness as a popular global trade unwinds.
The Mexican currency MXN= was trading at 19.37 pesos per greenback, down about 1.1% from the Friday close. The peso's overnight fall in foreign operations was of as much as 4.4%, when the currency surpassed the psychological barrier of 20 pesos per dollar, a level not seen since October 2022.
The peso was dragged down by a wave of liquidations in global markets, particularly in Asia. The Japanese yen rose to a seven-month high against the dollar as traders unwound their "carry trade" positions, one of the factors that had sustained the peso's strength until recently.
The trade involves funding in low-interest currencies like the yen while investing in higher yielding currencies like the peso, to pocket the yield difference.
"As in any domino effect where there is panic, everything moves towards safe-haven assets and leaves assets considered risky, such as the Mexican peso," said Gabriela Siller, director of analysis at local firm Banco Base.
Down about 1% Monday, the Mexican currency has accumulated losses of 4% against the dollar since the close on Wednesday. The selloff was triggered by the release of data last Thursday showing U.S. manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in eight months.
"There are simply too many uncertainties on both the US and Mexican sides," said Commerzbank FX analyst Michael Pfister in a Monday note, citing political uncertainty on both sides of that border as well as the possibility of a rate cut this week in Mexico even as inflation remains a concern.
"We could imagine that the peso could benefit somewhat in the coming weeks and recoup some of last week's losses," he added, but until early next year "we see worse times ahead."
A weak U.S. employment market report on Friday added to the outlook of a slowing U.S. economy, as the unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July.
Mexico is highly sensitive to economic developments in the U.S., its top trading partner and the destination for more than 80% of its exports.
Mexican peso keeps falling versus Japanese yen https://reut.rs/3SxIDrx
Reporting by Noe Torres and Rodrigo Campos; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Paul Simao and Alistair Bell
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
