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- Mexican Peso recovers slightly, breaking three-day losing streak.
- Mexico’s wider April trade deficit and slower economic growth are reported by INEGI.
- Banxico minutes show division on rate cuts amid ongoing inflation, emphasizing commitment to price stability.
- US Durable Goods Orders beat expectations, but March’s figures are revised down heavily.
The Mexican Peso snapped three days of losses and climbed more than 0.10% against the US Dollar on Friday amid an improvement in risk appetite and softer-than-expected US data that weighed on the Greenback. At the time of writing, the USD/MXN trades at 16.69, down 0.17%.
Mexico’s National Statistics Agency (INEGI) revealed a wider-than-expected trade deficit in April. On Thursday, INEGI announced that the economy grew at a slower pace than foreseen, while inflation for the Mid-month was mixed.
The Bank of Mexico featured its last monetary policy meeting minutes, which revealed the Governing Council is divided over when to resume interest rate cuts amid stubbornly stickier inflation. At the latest meeting, Banxico upwardly revised inflation and mentioned that it remains committed to price stability.
Across the border, the US Department of Commerce revealed that Durable Goods Orders exceeded expectations but revised March’s figures downward from 2.4% to 0.8%. Recently, a survey showed that consumer sentiment shifted to slightly pessimistic, according to a University of Michigan Survey. The same poll revealed that inflation expectations are tilted to the downside.
Given the fundamental backdrop, the USD/MXN resumed its downtrend as buyers struggled to breach strong resistance at the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 16.76, opening the door for a retracement.
Daily digest market movers: Mexican Peso leans on soft US data to appreciate against USD
- Mexico’s Balance of Trade in April was $-3.746 billion, exceeding forecasts of $-0.8 billion and March’s $2.09 billion surplus.
- Mexico’s economy is slowing as expected as Gross Domestic Product for Q1 2024 grew 1.6% YoY, aligned with estimates but trailing 2023’a last quarter rate of 2.5%.
- Mid-month headline inflation rose from 4.63% to 4.78%, but the core continued to aim lower. Underlying inflation for the same period stood at 4.31% YoY, down from 4.39%.
- May’s Citibanamex poll showed that most economists estimate Banxico will cut rates on June 27 from 11% to 10.75%. The median expects headline inflation at 4.21% and core at 4.07% in 2024.
- April’s US Durable Goods Orders increased by 0.7% MoM, exceeding estimates of -0.8% contraction but lower than the downwardly revised March figures.
- The UoM Consumer Sentiment Index in May was 69.1, below April’s 77.2, but exceeded forecasts of 67.5. Inflation Expectations for one year stood at 3.3%, up from 3.2%. For a five-year period, they were unchanged at 3%.
- Despite that, fed funds rate futures estimated just 26 basis points of easing toward the end of the year after S&P Global revealed that US business activity is gathering steam.
Technical analysis: Mexican Peso counter attacks as USD/MXN tumbles below 16.70
The USD/MXN downtrend extended after buyers were unable to cancel the 100-day SMA at 16.76. The exotic pair retreated afterward, down some 365 pips and back below the psychological 16.70 mark. Momentum is on the sellers’ side as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) aims downward in bearish territory.
Due to seller strength, the path of least resistance is downward. The pair would meet its next support at 16.62, the 2023 low, followed by the May 21 cycle low at 16.52 and the year-to-date low of 16.25.
Conversely, if buyers reclaim 16.70, they must clear the 100-day SMA at 16.76 before extending its gains. In that outcome, key resistance levels emerge like the 50-day SMA at 16.89, the 17.00 psychological figure and the 200-day SMA at 17.15.
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.
