Peso plunges back to near-record low level against the dollar
The Mexican peso has plummeted again today, after a volatile 24 hours of trading in the wake of yesterday's US election shock.
The peso dove to a record low against the dollar yesterday after Donald Trump emerged victorious from one of the most hotly contested US Presidential elections in history. The Mexican currency dropped 11 per cent to break past 20 pesos per dollar at one point on Wednesday.
This morning has seen the peso drop 0.5 per cent to $0.05 – hovering around the 20 pesos per dollar mark.
(Source: Bloomberg)
The Mexican central bank held a news conference after the currency nose-dived yesterday, but chief Agustin Carstens did not announce any emergency measures, and said authorities would wait until their meeting on 17 November to make a decision on further interest rates.
Mexico's currency was seen by many as a bellwether for this year's US election – David Bloom, head of foreign exchange at HSBC has previously described the peso as a "Trump thermometer" – and the peso seemed to track Donald Trump's fortunes in reverse during his campaign, i.e. when Trump looked to be falling out of favour, the peso was stronger.