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Mexican Peso tumbles against the US Dollar, as sentiment shifts sour


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  • Mexican Peso has paused its seven-day rally against the US Dollar, with the USD/MXN pair having seen a slight uptick on Tuesday.
  • Mexico’s economic calendar remains relatively quiet, with upcoming mid-November inflation report relevant to Banxico’s future monetary policy decisions.
  • USD/MXN traders await the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting minutes.

Mexican Peso (MXN) loses some ground against the US Dollar (USD) in early trading during Tuesday’s North American session, despite overall US Dollar weakness, mostly against G8 currencies in the Forex space. The Peso’s seven-day rally halted after refreshing a two-month high of 17.06, but the USD/MXN has reversed its downtrend and climbed 0.80%, trading at 17.25.

Mexico’s economic calendar remains light, with USD/MXN traders eyeing economic data that could weigh on the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) futures decisions, regarding monetary policy. Preliminary estimates reported by Reuters showed the local economy grew 2.9% in October, compared with the same month a year earlier.

On Wednesday, Mexican Retail Sales are expected to show an improvement, and on Thursday, the November mid-month inflation report most likely witnessed a jump in headline inflation, in contrast to the core, expected to dip further toward the 5% threshold.

Meanwhile, the USD/MXN pair remains driven by economic data from the United States (US) and market mood. The latest data revealed that US Existing Home Sales dropped the most since November 2022. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) will reveal the latest meeting minutes at 19:00 GMT.

Daily digest movers: Mexican Peso retreats as USD/MXN sellers surrender 17.20

  • The USD/MXN pair is trading well below the 20, 50, 100, and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), portraying a bearish bias.
  • The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback’s value against a basket of peers, posts losses of more than 0.15%, trading at 103.28.
  • The US 10-year Treasury bond yield tumbles two basis points (bps) to 4.39%.
  • US Existing Home Sales plunged 4.1% from 3.95 million to 3.79 million, missing estimates of 3.9 million in October.
  • Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures will be revealed on Friday, alongside the third quarter current account.
  • Data published last week showed prices paid by consumers and producers in the US dipped, increasing investors’ speculations that the Fed’s tightening cycle has ended.
  • The swap market suggests traders expect 100 basis points of rate cuts by the Fed in 2024.
  • The latest inflation report in Mexico, published on November 9, showed prices grew by 4.26% YoY in October, below forecasts of 4.28% and prior rate of 4.45%. On a monthly basis, inflation came at 0.39%, slightly above the 0.38% consensus and September’s 0.44%.
  • Banxico revised its inflation projections from 3.50% to 3.87% for 2024, which remains above the central bank’s 3.00% target (plus or minus 1%).

Technical Analysis: Mexican Peso loses a step as USD/MXN exchanges hands above 17.20

The USD/MXN bearish bias remains intact, but Tuesday’s price action is forming a ‘bullish engulfing’ candlestick pattern, which suggests the pair could shift upwards in the near term. If the pair breaks above 17.28, that could pave the way for a test of the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) At 17.34. Once cleared, that could open the door to challenge the confluence of the 20 and 200-day SMAs at around 17.61.

On the flip side, if USD/MXN sellers keep the spot price below 17.28, they would remain in charge but must drag prices below 17.00 to cement the downward bias on its way toward the year-to-date (YTD) low of 16.62.

Banxico FAQs

The Bank of Mexico, also known as Banxico, is the country’s central bank. Its mission is to preserve the value of Mexico’s currency, the Mexican Peso (MXN), and to set the monetary policy. To this end, its main objective is to maintain low and stable inflation within target levels – at or close to its target of 3%, the midpoint in a tolerance band of between 2% and 4%.

The main tool of the Banxico to guide monetary policy is by setting interest rates. When inflation is above target, the bank will attempt to tame it by raising rates, making it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow money and thus cooling the economy. Higher interest rates are generally positive for the Mexican Peso (MXN) as they lead to higher yields, making the country a more attractive place for investors. On the contrary, lower interest rates tend to weaken MXN. The rate differential with the USD, or how the Banxico is expected to set interest rates compared with the US Federal Reserve (Fed), is a key factor.

Banxico meets eight times a year, and its monetary policy is greatly influenced by decisions of the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Therefore, the central bank’s decision-making committee usually gathers a week after the Fed. In doing so, Banxico reacts and sometimes anticipates monetary policy measures set by the Federal Reserve. For example, after the Covid-19 pandemic, before the Fed raised rates, Banxico did it first in an attempt to diminish the chances of a substantial depreciation of the Mexican Peso (MXN) and to prevent capital outflows that could destabilize the country.