Germany's Factory Orders Surge in December 2023
The Mexican peso weakened past the 17.1 per USD level, retreating from a two-week high of 17.07 USD seen February 1st, amid US dollar strength driven by a strong labor market. The greenback found support from lowered bets for early Fed interest rate cuts after the US economy created nearly double the number of jobs than anticipated, totaling 353K jobs.
Despite this, the peso's decline was tempered by business confidence, maintaining an eleven-year high at 54.5 in January and the PMI remaining in expansionary territory. Furthermore, although fourth-quarter GDP growth fell short of expectations, the data indicated a resilient Mexican economy. Combined with inflation persistently exceeding Banxico's target, there could be a delay in the first rate cut despite some officials suggesting the possibility of rate reductions in the first quarter of 2024.