Mexican peso falls 7.7% in AMLO’s final quarter as president

The Mexican peso ended the final trading session of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency relatively unchanged, ahead of the public holiday marking the transition of power.

On Monday, the peso traded flat, closing at 19.6921 per dollar. Compared to Friday’s rate of 19.6902, according to data from the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), this represented a marginal loss of 0.01% for the local currency—less than one cent. During the day, the dollar traded within a range between 19.7411 and 19.5515 pesos. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) from the Intercontinental Exchange, which compares the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.40% to 100.78 points.

Traders are closely watching Claudia Sheinbaum, who is set to become Mexico’s first female president, for indications of her policy direction, following recent volatility amid constitutional changes achieved by Morena.

Globally, investors monitored Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s statement, in which he highlighted the strength of the U.S. economy, citing the recent rate cut as evidence of this resilience.

The end of September was slightly positive for the peso, which closed August at 19.7027 per dollar—gaining 1.06 cents, or 0.05%. However, over the third quarter, the peso fell from 18.2862 in June to 19.6921, representing a 7.69% decline, or a loss of 1.40 pesos.