The national currency ended yesterday at 16.71 units per dollar, marking an appreciation of 0.6% or nine cents compared to the previous Friday. This marks the third consecutive week in which the dollar has gained ground, according to wholesale operations reported by Bloomberg.
The Mexican peso was the second most appreciated currency in the week, following only behind the Chilean peso which rose 2%. This appreciation is attributed to the market’s belief that the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) will lower its main interest rate from 11.25% to 11% next Thursday, although this does not necessarily imply the start of further cuts.
Speculative positions have also been favorable, with the Chicago futures market showing positions in favor for 53 consecutive weeks. Janneth Quiroz, director of Economic, Exchange and Stock Market Analysis at Monex, stated that “Net positions remained close to a maximum not seen since March 2020.”
The national currency has been the most appreciated since the beginning of 2024 when considering the broad basket of main crosses, with an accumulation of an advance of 1.4% or 24 cents. On Friday, the dollar was selling at 17.11 pesos at the CitiBanamex counters, eight cents below the closure of the previous week.
The performance of the exchange market is expected to be influenced by next week’s monetary policy decisions, with the United States Federal Reserve and the Bank of Mexico both set to make announcements.
In the United States, stock markets experienced negative results with the Dow Jones, Nasdaq Composite, and S&P 500 all showing declines. However, the Mexican Stock Exchange ended with a 2.4% advance compared to the previous Friday.
Notable performers on the Mexican Stock Exchange include Grupo México which saw a 15.1% increase thanks to higher international copper prices, and Alsea, a restaurant operator, whose stock rose 10.7% after setting a growth goal for its income exceeding 10% in 2024.
In the raw materials market, WTI oil ended at $81 a barrel with a weekly increase of 3.9%, attributed to a report from the United States Energy Information Administration showing a decrease of 1.5 million barrels in oil inventories last week.