Mexican peso loses ground due to a rise in inflation in the country

The Mexican peso depreciates slightly against the American dollar this Tuesday morning. The local currency loses ground after the publication of inflation data in the first half of January in Mexico, which showed a higher than expected increase.

The exchange rate spot It is located at the level of 18.8805 units against an official record of 18.8141 units per dollar at the close of yesterday’s Bank of Mexico (Banxico). For the peso, this means a loss of 6.64 cents or a variation of 0.35 percent.

The annual general inflation of Mexico in the first half of the month rose to 7.94%, with the data reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), more than 7.77% in December and than the expectations of economists of 7.86 percent. .

The new inflation data also showed the first monthly rise since September and comes after a streak of positive data that had shown less pressure, just two weeks before Banxico made its first decision of the year, on February 9.

“The slight increase in inflation in Mexico means there is a growing risk that the central bank will tighten somewhat more than the 25 basis point increase to 10.75% that we expected in February,” Capital Economics explained.

The crossing operates in a limited range between a maximum of 18.8853 units and a minimum of 18.7959 units. The Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback with a basket of six strong reference currencies, rose a marginal 0.05% to 102.19 units.

The rise of the dollar against its main peers has been presented since the minutes before the publication of the PMI data for manufacturing and services, considered indicators of the health of the economy. Both turned out better than expected.

jose.rivera@eleconomista.mx