The peso closed the session with an appreciation of 0.28% or 5.6 cents, trading around 19.87 pesos per dollar.

The appreciation was the result of a general market correction, as the dollar weighted index lost 0.44%, almost completely erasing the increase in Wednesday’s session.

In the wide basket of main crosses, the Mexican peso ranked 19th among the currencies that appreciated.

The most appreciated were the Polish zloty (+ 1.14%), the South African rand (+ 0.89%) and the Hungarian forint (+0.88 percent).

It should be remembered that yesterday, the depreciation of the peso was due to speculation that the Fed could adopt a less flexible stance in the coming months.

The mexican peso

Today, the market moderated that speculation, allowing the 10-year Treasury bond rate to drop 4.1 basis points to 1.63 percent.

It is important to note that, in the exchange market, among the few currencies that lost ground were three from Latin American economies, the Chilean peso (-0.89%), the Colombian peso (-0.66%) and the Argentine peso (-0.04 percent).

The fall of the Chilean currency is due to the fact that in China the government announced that it will punish speculation in metal prices, this in order to avoid inflationary pressures, which could affect the prices of industrial metals.

For its part, the depreciation of the Colombian peso was the result of a reduction in the credit rating of sovereign debt by Standard & Poor’s to a level below investment grade.

The depreciation of the Colombian peso was relatively moderate, since the Colombian peso at the end of yesterday already accumulated a depreciation in the year of 7.46%, discounting the risk of cuts to the credit rating due to the situation of public finances and social instability.

The depreciations of the Chilean peso and the Colombian peso did not have an effect on the performance of the Mexican currency.

Investment

As for relevant news, today the Ministry of Economy announced that during the first quarter Mexico received 11.846 million dollars for foreign direct investment, showing an annual growth of 14.8% according to preliminary figures.

According to the Secretariat, it is the highest amount for a first quarter since 1999. It is worth mentioning that on Tuesday, May 25, the complete data of the balance of payments corresponding to the first quarter will be published.

In the session, the euro touched a minimum of 1.2169 and a maximum of 1.2229 dollars per euro.

For its part, the euro peso touched a minimum of 24.2212 and a maximum of 24.3602 pesos per euro.

At the close, the interbank quotes for sale stood at 19.8682 pesos per dollar, 1.4186 dollars per pound and 1.2227 dollars per euro.

Gabriela Siller; PhD

Director of Economic-Financial Analysis.

Banco BASE