Mexican Peso Advances as Industrial Production Exceeds Forecast

Mexico’s peso rallied the most this month as a report showed industrial production increased in July more than analysts forecast, boosting the outlook for Latin America’s second-biggest economy.

The currency appreciated 0.7 percent to 12.9874 per dollar at 4 p.m. in Mexico City, the biggest gain since Aug. 31.

The peso extended its advance against the dollar this year to 7.3 percent, the best performance among the greenback’s 16 most-traded counterparts tracked by Bloomberg.

“Most people remain quite constructive on Mexico,” Eduardo Suarez, a Latin America currency strategist at Scotiabank, said in a telephone interview from Toronto. Mexico’s industrial production “is outperforming even its trading partners.”

Output expanded 4.9 percent in July from a year earlier, the fastest pace since February, the national statistics agency reported. The median forecast of 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a 3.9 percent increase.

The yield on Mexico’s peso-denominated debt due in 2024 rose three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 5.66 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price fell 0.40 centavo to 138.27 centavos per peso.

Mexico sold all 7 billion pesos ($539 million) of 28-day Cetes and 8 billion pesos of the 91-day securities offered today, the central bank said on its website. Mexico also sold all 9 billion pesos in 175-day bills it auctioned, the bank said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Bain in Mexico City at bbain2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net