| | |  Business News | February 2009 
Mexico Peso Hits Record Low on US Economy Fears
 Reuters
go to original
Mexico City - Mexico's peso hit a record low on Thursday and stocks sank after surprisingly weak U.S. data stoked worries that the economic downturn is deepening in the United States, Mexico's top trading partner.
The peso briefly traded past the key psychological level of 15 per dollar, its weakest since new pesos were introduced in 1993 after years of high inflation.
The currency bounced back to around 14.97 per dollar in late afternoon trade.
Earlier, the peso notched a record low at the final central bank reference at 14.93 per dollar, down 0.27 percent.
In the stock market, the IPC index .MXX closed down 0.84 percent at 18,047.16 points.
The number of U.S. workers drawing jobless aid jumped to a record high in mid-February, while the recession undercut demand for manufactured goods last month and sent new homes sales to their lowest since 1963, U.S. reports showed on Thursday.
"The data is really worrying, it does not show any indication that this (recession) is going to end any time soon," said Rodolfo Navarrete, head of analysis at Vector brokerage in Mexico City.
Mexico's economy is expected to contract more than 1 percent this year due to the downturn in the United States, which buys around 80 percent of Mexican exports.
The peso has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar since last August.
Worried that a weak currency is fueling higher inflation, the Mexican central bank this month launched its first direct interventions in the markets in more than a decade, defending the battered peso through direct dollar sales to brokers. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us