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- Mexican Peso strengthens against the US Dollar, with USD/MXN falling below 17.45 after a peak of 17.62.
- The USD/MXN decline is supported by speculation the Federal Reserve might halt its monetary tightening.
- US Treasury bond yields plunged after the US CPI report; traders eye Fed rate cuts in June 2024.
- Banxico’s Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja hinted at the possibility of rate cuts in Mexico, noting that any easing of monetary policy would be gradual and data-dependent.
Mexican Peso (MXN) rallies against the US Dollar (USD) as investors speculate the Federal Reserve (Fed) has finished tightening monetary policy following a softer-than-expected inflation report in the United States (US). The USD/MXN pair dropped below 17.45 after hitting a daily high of 17.62, and it is on the brink of challenging the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 17.33 at the time of writing.
A scarce Mexico’s economic docket kept traders adrift to the release of October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the US, with figures coming below estimates and previous readings, both annually and monthly. Core CPI also slowed down, prompting investors to buy riskier assets to the detriment of the US Dollar’s safe-haven status. Consequently, US Treasury bond yields are plunging, while traders are expecting the federal funds rate to hit 5% in June 2024.
Daily digest movers: Mexican Peso climbs as US inflation slows down, despite Banxico’s Rodriguez dovish remarks
- US October CPI rose by 3.2% YoY, below forecasts and the previous month’s rate, respectively at 3.3% and 3.7%. On a monthly basis, CPI inflation was 0%, way beneath consensus expectations and September’s rate, each at 0.1% and 0.4%.
- Core CPI inflation stood above 4% YoY, easing below September’s and the estimated 4.1%. On month-over-month readings, inflation cooled to 0.2%, beneath last month’s and the forecast of 0.3%.
- Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said he’s not convinced inflation is on a smooth glide path to 2%. He fears more needs to be done to curb inflation.
- On Monday, Banxico’s Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja commented that the easing inflationary outlook could pave the way for discussing possible rate cuts. She said that monetary policy loosening could be gradual but not necessarily imply continuous rate cuts, adding that the board would consider macroeconomic conditions, adopting a data-dependent approach.
- 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%.
- Last Thursday’s hawkish remarks by the US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sponsored the USD/MXN a leg up, toward 17.93, before paring some losses.
- Mexico’s economy remains resilient after October’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improved to 52.1 from 49.8, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 3.3% YoY in the third quarter.
- 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 surges with USD/MXN sellers eyeing a break below the 100-day SMA
The USD/MXN pair bias has shifted to neutral downwards in the short term, and the pair is on the brink of breaking crucial support levels like the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 17.33, followed by the psychological 17.00 figure. A breach of those demand areas could open the door to testing the year-to-date (YTD) low of 16.62, printed in July.
On the other hand, if buyers keep the exotic pair above 17.33 and reclaim 17.50 in the near term, they could remain hopeful of testing key resistance levels, like the 200-day SMA at 17.65, ahead of the 50-day SMA at 17.70. Once cleared, the next resistance emerges at the 20-day SMA at 17.87 before buyers could lift the spot price towards the 18.00 figure.
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.
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