MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The depreciation of Mexico’s peso extended into its third day on Monday, leading declines in global currencies against the U.S. dollar on concerns the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession.
The Mexican currency was trading at 19.5645 pesos per greenback, down about 2% against the Reuters reference price from Friday. The peso’s fall on Monday follows loses from Sunday night in its foreign operations, when the currency surpassed the psychological barrier of 20 pesos per dollar, a level not seen since October 2022.
The Mexican currency was dragged down by a wave of liquidations in global markets, particularly in Asia. The Japanese yen rose to a seven-month high against dollar as traders unwound their “carry trade” positions, one of the factors that had sustained the peso’s strength until recently.
“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.
In the last three sessions, the Mexican currency has accumulated losses of 5.2%. The selloff was triggered by the release of data last Thursday showing U.S. manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in eight months.
A weak U.S. employment market report on Friday added to the outlook of a slowing U.S. economy, as the unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy 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.
(Reporting by Noe Torres; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Paul Simao)
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