Mexican Peso Free Fall Shows Oil Isn’t the Only Problem

  • An oil price slide and virus fears have hammered the peso
  • Investors have refocused on key weaknesses in Mexico

    

Photographer: Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg
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The Mexican peso is in free fall as an oil price drop turned investor attention to the nation’s deeper issues.

The currency fell 2% to a record 24.2 per dollar on Thursday, extending its year-to-date decline to 22%, the third worst in the world -- only better than the oil-exposed Russian ruble and Norwegian krone. Since Feb. 17, the peso has posted just three days of gains.