Peso Slips to 18.63 Per Dollar as Trump Tariff Threat Weighs
The peso fell 0.19 percent to 18.63 per dollar on Nov. 12 after Trump threatened to double tariffs over a migrant caravan. Bank counter rates inside.
The Mexican peso lost 0.19 percent against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, Nov. 12, trading at 18.63 per dollar, according to Bloomberg data reported by El Financiero. That is 2 centavos weaker than Wednesday’s close on Nov. 11. Traders were also absorbing U.S. labor market figures.
Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, said the peso was hit by a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to double tariffs on Mexico unless it stops a migrant caravan coming from Central America.
The caravan behind the tariff threat
President Claudia Sheinbaum said a group is currently in Arriaga, Chiapas. According to her, the caravan set out with 600 members and dropped to 100 after Mexican authorities explained to them that the U.S. government will not grant them asylum.
The threat is conditional: Trump’s stated demand is that Mexico prevent the caravan from advancing. The reports do not say whether any tariff has been formally ordered.
What the dollar costs at the bank counter
Banamex said it was selling dollars at 19.08 pesos on Thursday and buying them at 18.04. Both figures differ from the 18.63 market rate cited by Bloomberg, so anyone exchanging cash at a bank window faces a different price than the headline rate.
Bond yields and other currencies
In the money market, the 10-year U.S. government bond yielded 4.97 percent, while Mexico’s 10-year bond held at 9.30 percent.
The peso was not the only currency under pressure against the dollar. Among the most depreciated were:
- the Chilean peso, down 0.94 percent
- the Brazilian real, down 0.91 percent
- the Israeli shekel, down 0.74 percent
- the South African rand, down 0.71 percent
- the Indonesian rupiah, down 0.48 percent
The Mexican peso’s 0.19 percent decline was smaller than all five.
What this means for people in Mexico
A weaker peso means each dollar buys slightly more pesos, which matters to residents paid in dollars and to families receiving money from the United States. A move of 2 centavos in a day is small. The bigger variable named in the reports is the tariff threat, which depends on what happens with the caravan in Chiapas and on how Washington responds.
Source: El Financiero
