US dollar rises to 18.30 Mexican pesos

The US dollar started October with a gain of 24 centavos, reaching its highest level since early December of last year. In wholesale trading, the exchange rate closed at 18.30 Mexican pesos per dollar on October 1, after touching a high of 18.43 Mexican pesos during the session, according to Bloomberg data. The Mexican peso depreciated 1.2% that day, ranking as the third worst-performing currency.

At Banamex bank branches, the US dollar traded at 18.76 Mexican pesos, accumulating an increase of 64 centavos over the past four days. Laura Díaz, an analyst at Banamex, noted that the recent depreciation of emerging-market currencies against the US dollar has coincided with higher default risk on Latin American debt.

Felipe Mendoza, an analyst at broker EBC Financial Group, stated that the exchange rate on October 2 would depend on market reactions to the US nonfarm payrolls report, which will influence Federal Reserve interest rate policy at year-end. Mendoza projected a trading range between 18.22 and 18.52 Mexican pesos per dollar. He estimated that stronger-than-expected employment data could push US Treasury yields higher, testing technical resistance at 18.45 and targeting 18.50 to 18.55 Mexican pesos.