Market Data 
- Mexican Peso slumps to weekly low of 18.81 as disappointing GDP data sparks USD buying.
- Mexican Q2 GDP growth at 0.2% QoQ, below estimates of 0.4%, trails Q1’s 0.3%.
- Economic slowdown increases odds of Bank of Mexico rate cut; next meeting on August 8.
The Mexican Peso extended its agony and printed losses of more than 0.50% against the Greenback after the preliminary release of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q2 2024. It was slightly below estimates and trailed the first quarter reading. Hence, traders bought the US Dollar as seen by the USD/MXN trading at 18.73, refreshing seven-week highs after bouncing off daily lows of 18.41.
Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografia e Informatica, known as INEGI by its Spanish acronym, revealed that GDP rose 0.2% QoQ, below estimates of 0.4% and trailing Q1’s 0.3% increase. Although the economy achieved 11 quarters of expansion, growth has decelerated, raising the chances of an interest rate cut by the Bank of Mexico (Banxico).
Banxico lifted rates as high as 11.25% but cut them to 11.00% in March, laying the ground for additional adjustments. However, the latest inflation data refrained the central bank’s Governing Council from easing policy.
The Mexican central bank’s next meeting is on August 8, and economists cited by Reuters noted that GDP data could influence policymakers to lower borrowing costs.
Andres Abadia of Pantheon Macroeconomics said, “Real GDP growth has slowed rapidly in recent quarters, which will add to the view that Banxico will have to cut interest rates gradually over upcoming policy meetings.”
A solid US JOLTS report also influenced the USD/MXN in the United States (US) as job openings dropped yet exceeded estimates, and an upward revision to May figures showed the labor market’s resilience.
Daily digest market movers: Mexican Peso is heavy as the economy slows down
- Mexico’s GDP for Q2 2024 grew 2.2% YoY on its preliminary reading, above estimates of 2% and the previous quarter’s 1.6% expansion.
- Last week, Mexico’s June Balance of Trade was $-1.073 billion, missing the consensus of $1 billion.
- US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) came at 8.184 million, exceeding estimates of 8 million, but were lower than May’s revision up to 8.23 million.
- Conference Board revealed that Consumer Confidence in July surprisingly rose to 100.3, exceeding the 99.7 consensus and June’s downward revision from 100.4 to 97.8.
- Data by the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) shows that traders are pricing 54 basis points (bps) of easing toward the end of the year, as shown by the December 2024 fed funds rate futures contract.
Technical analysis: Mexican Peso dives as USD/MXN rises toward 18.80
The USD/MXN exotic pair is set to test the year-to-date (YTD) high of 18.99 after refreshing multi-week highs of 18.81. Momentum as depicted by the Relative Strength Index (RSI) supports buyers, with the RSI approaching overbought conditions.
If USD/MXN surpasses the YTD high at 18.99, that could open the door to test 19.00. Once surpassed, the next resistance would be March 20, 2023, peaking at 19.23 before challenging 19.50.
Conversely, if USD/MXN retreats below 18.00, it would pave the way to challenge the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 17.93, the first support level. The next support would be the latest cycle low of 17.58, the July 12 high turned support. A breach of this level will expose the January 23 peak at 17.38.
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.
