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MEXICO CITY, Jan 18 (Reuters) – The Mexican peso depreciated on Monday amid a strong dollar ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration as U.S. president this week and amid mounting COVID-19 cases, even when the Chinese economy recovered faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The local currency was trading at 19.8580 per dollar, with a loss of 0.43% compared to the 19.7720 pesos of the Reuters reference price on Friday.
“The dollar continues to trade higher in the main market crosses, although China reported an increase of 2.3% of GDP in 2020, but investors continue to increase risk aversion due to contagions in Europe and China,” Monex said in a report .
The dollar appreciated for the third day in a row to a four-week high. With US markets closed for a holiday on Monday and Biden ready to take on Wednesday, the major currencies remained within narrow ranges.
Analysts from Banco Base wrote in a report that there are doubts that the US Congress can quickly pass the stimulus package proposed by Biden last week, as it requires the full support of the Democrats in the Senate.
More than 94.53 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus globally, according to official numbers of confirmed cases, and 2,025,929 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
China’s economy accelerated in the fourth quarter with growth that exceeded expectations.
(Report by Miguel Angel Gutiérrez)