The peso depreciated against the dollar this Monday, for the third consecutive day, as the fears about the impact of the coronavirus grew internationally and capital markets ‘faltered’ along with oil and gold prices rose.
This happened in the face of a renewed wave of uncertainty driven by the increase in the number of coronavirus cases outside of China.
According to data from the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), the Mexican currency depreciated 1.09 percent, or 20 cents, which place parity at 19.07 units, its highest level since December 11.
In windows of Citibanamex, the dollar is sold at 19.40 pesos, figure 22 cents above the closing reported on Friday that was 19.18 units
The Bloomberg index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of ten currencies, gained 0.08 percent, which put it at 215.26 points. During the morning the indicator reached a maximum of one thousand 219 points.
The Emerging market currencies were the most affected of the day, with the weight occupying the third position among those of the worst performance shown.
The number of infections by the virus has expanded to more than 30 countries, with South Korea reporting a rebound in the number of diagnoses and also with increases in Iran. The first cases were also registered in Afghanistan, Bahrain and Kuwait. While in Italy the closure of an area with about 50 thousand people near Milan was declared.
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Monday that countries should do everything possible to prepare for a potential coronavirus pandemic.
The central bankers and finance ministers gathered under the G-20 over the weekend did not give details about a possible coordinated action, stating that monitoring measures will increase and that downside risks to global growth persist.
In local economic data, during the morning inflation indicators were published during the first half of February. Core inflation was 0.22 percent. With this figure, annual inflation rose to 3.52 percent.
In commodity markets, oil prices fell and gold rose. The WTI loses 4.12 percent, at $ 51.18 per barrel. While Brent goes back 4.24 percent, at $ 56.00 per barrel.
Gold proved to be the big winner of the day, with the yellow metal reaching $ 1,671 an ounce, an increase of 1.62 percent.
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