- USD/MXN climbs 0.43% as US employment strength dampens hopes for imminent Fed rate reductions, boosting the Greenback.
- 10-year US Treasury yield hits a high of 4.801%, adding pressure on emerging market currencies like the Mexican Peso.
- Economic forecasts are bleak for Mexico with potential recession and credit rating concerns despite some positive industrial data.
The Mexican Peso prolongs its agony against the US Dollar, dropping for the fifth consecutive session on Monday amid a risk-off impulse following a robust US employment report that might deter the US Federal Reserve (Fed) from cutting interest rates. The USD/MXN trades at 20.80, up 0.43%.
Market participants remain risk-averse after last week’s Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for December showed a jump in hiring. Consequently, the Greenback advanced as traders grew less optimistic that the Fed would lower interest rates anytime soon. Besides this, US Treasury yields remained elevated with the 10-year T-note reaching 4.801% for the first time since November 2023.
Mexico’s economic docket remains absent, yet industrial production has improved in monthly and annual figures. However, the economy is not out of the woods yet. Former Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Werner said in an article by El Economista that the Mexican economy would enter a recession this year and could lose its investment-grade status before 2027.
This week, Mexico’s docket will feature Gross Fixed Investment and Retail Sales reports. In the US, key data releases include inflation figures on the producer and consumer sides, alongside Retail Sales and jobless claims for the week ending January 11.
Daily digest market movers: Mexican Peso drops as traders flee to safety
- The Mexican Peso weakened last Friday after December’s NFP said the US economy added over 256K employees to the workforce. Estimates were around 160K, and November’s figures were revised to 212K from 227K.
- The Unemployment Rate slipped to 4.1%, and Average Hourly Earnings dropped below 4%.
- Although money markets expect the Fed to cut rates once, Wednesday’s US inflation data will be crucial. Elevated readings would confirm investors’ speculation that rates will be held through 2025. Otherwise, they could adjust their expectations.
- Last week, Banco de Mexico (Banxico) revealed December’s meeting minutes. The minutes showed that inflation continues to trend lower, suggesting that the easing cycle might continue. Banxico’s Governing board stated that “larger downward adjustments could be considered in some meetings.”
- Mexico’s central bank improved the inflation outlook due to the headline and core inflation progress. Officials acknowledged that services inflation decreased and expect CPI to converge to its 3% goal in Q3 2026.
- The Fed’s latest Meeting Minutes showed that despite reducing rates, some policymakers supported keeping the fed funds rate unchanged as worries had grown that inflation risks were skewed to the upside.
- Consequently, they adopted a more gradual approach as Fed officials opened the door to slowing the pace of interest rate cuts.
USD/MXN technical outlook: Mexican Peso plunges as USD/MXN rises above 20.75
The USD/MXN uptrend remains intact. Traders had turned bullish on the US Dollar to the detriment of the Peso. If the Peso remains bid, they could test the current year-to-date (YTD) peak of 20.90. If surpassed, the next stop would be the March 8, 2022 high of 21.46, ahead of 21.50 and the 22.00 psychological level.
Conversely, if USDMXN drops below 20.50, this will expose the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 20.30. Once surpassed the next stop is the psychological 20.00 level, followed by the 100-day SMA at 19.96.
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.
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