- The Mexican Peso trades practically flat against the US Dollar near the 20.00 level.
- Hopes of Fed interest-rate cuts next week are acting as a headwind for the US Dollar.
- Technically, the USD/MXN pair remains bearish, with upside attempts limited at 20.30.
The Mexican Peso (MXN) trades with marginal gains against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday, with the key 20.00 support area holding the Greenback ahead of the US Producer Price Index (PPI) and Weekly Jobless Claims data. The Peso picked up on Wednesday after the US Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figures cemented hopes of a Federal Rerserve’s (Fed) rate cut next week.
The USD is drawing some support from higher US Treasury yields, which have rallied for the last three days with investors paring back hopes of monetary easing for 2025. The strong US macroeconomic data and the outlook of higher inflationary pressures from Donald Trump’s policies are likely to limit the US central bank’s leeway to lower borrowing costs.
In Mexico, softer-than-expected Consumer Prices Index data, coupled with a deteriorated Consumer Confidence index, has bolstered the case for a 25 bps cut by the Bank of Mexico next week.
Daily digest market movers: Weak Mexican data likely to weigh on MXN
- Mexico’s Industrial Production is expected to have contracted by 0.2% in November compared with the previous month after increasing by 0.6% in October. Year-on-year, output is expected to decline by 0.6% from the 0.4% drop in October.
- Later today, the US PPI is expected to have grown at a steady 0.2% pace in November and by 2.6% year-on-year, up from 2.4% in October. The core PPI is seen easing to 0.2% from 0.3% in the previous month with the yearly rate accelerating to 3.2% from 3.1%.
- US Initial Jobless Claims are seen declining to 220K in the first week of December from 224K in the previous week.
- On Wednesday, US Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures revealed that inflation accelerated to 0.3% in November and to 2.7% on the year as expected, posting its largest increase in seven months.
- Futures markets, however, are now nearly fully pricing a 25 bps cut by the Fed next week. The CME Fed Watch tool shows a 98% chance of such a scenario, up from 85% earlier this week.
US Dollar PRICE This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
USD EUR GBP JPY CAD AUD NZD CHF USD 0.58% -0.03% 1.55% -0.04% -0.25% 0.74% 0.86% EUR -0.58% -0.59% 1.09% -0.54% -0.74% 0.24% 0.37% GBP 0.03% 0.59% 1.51% 0.05% -0.15% 0.84% 0.95% JPY -1.55% -1.09% -1.51% -1.61% -1.70% -0.93% -0.61% CAD 0.04% 0.54% -0.05% 1.61% -0.16% 0.79% 0.90% AUD 0.25% 0.74% 0.15% 1.70% 0.16% 0.99% 1.15% NZD -0.74% -0.24% -0.84% 0.93% -0.79% -0.99% 0.10% CHF -0.86% -0.37% -0.95% 0.61% -0.90% -1.15% -0.10% The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Mexican Peso technical outlook: USD/MXN remains supported above 20.00 key level
The USD/MXN pair remains steady above the 20.00 support area, with the December 5 high at the 20.30 area capping upside attempts. The pair is trading practically flat, awaiting US data.
The short-term bias remains bearish as a double top at 20.80 suggests the possibility of a deeper correction. The 20.00 psychological level is a key support. Below here the target is November’s low at 19.75.
On the upside, the December 5 high at 20.30 is holding upside attempts ahead of the December 2 high at 20.60 and November’s peak at around 20.80.
USD/MXN 4-Hour Chart
Inflation FAQs
Inflation measures the rise in the price of a representative basket of goods and services. Headline inflation is usually expressed as a percentage change on a month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) basis. Core inflation excludes more volatile elements such as food and fuel which can fluctuate because of geopolitical and seasonal factors. Core inflation is the figure economists focus on and is the level targeted by central banks, which are mandated to keep inflation at a manageable level, usually around 2%.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices of a basket of goods and services over a period of time. It is usually expressed as a percentage change on a month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) basis. Core CPI is the figure targeted by central banks as it excludes volatile food and fuel inputs. When Core CPI rises above 2% it usually results in higher interest rates and vice versa when it falls below 2%. Since higher interest rates are positive for a currency, higher inflation usually results in a stronger currency. The opposite is true when inflation falls.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive, high inflation in a country pushes up the value of its currency and vice versa for lower inflation. This is because the central bank will normally raise interest rates to combat the higher inflation, which attract more global capital inflows from investors looking for a lucrative place to park their money.
Formerly, Gold was the asset investors turned to in times of high inflation because it preserved its value, and whilst investors will often still buy Gold for its safe-haven properties in times of extreme market turmoil, this is not the case most of the time. This is because when inflation is high, central banks will put up interest rates to combat it. Higher interest rates are negative for Gold because they increase the opportunity-cost of holding Gold vis-a-vis an interest-bearing asset or placing the money in a cash deposit account. On the flipside, lower inflation tends to be positive for Gold as it brings interest rates down, making the bright metal a more viable investment alternative.
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