(MENAFN- The Rio Times) The Mexican peso is starting Tuesday near 18.31 per dollar, almost unchanged from Monday's close and still pressed against the stronger side of this year's 18.20–18.75 trading band.

The move comes with the US Dollar Index hovering around 99.3 after slipping to two-week lows, as markets price another Federal Reserve rate cut in December even while bracing for tough talk on inflation.

Mexico remains one of 2025's rare emerging-market currencies that have appreciated double digits against the dollar, a reminder that investors still reward orthodox policy when they can find it.

On Monday the peso briefly pushed toward 18.25 before profit taking and hedging flows nudged it back above 18.30. Dealers describe an overnight range stuck between 18.28 and 18.35, with fast-money funds watching the 18.20 floor as a trigger for fresh speculative shorts in the dollar.

Some strategists still call the peso a preferred long against low-yielding currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc, but concede that positioning is crowded and sensitive to any surprise on US tariffs or Fed guidance.



Banxico's cautious easing path underpins the currency. After its November cut, Mexico still offers some of the highest real interest rates in the investment-grade world, while growth remains modest at around 0.4 percent year-on-year and fiscal policy relatively restrained.

For global funds wary of interventionist experiments elsewhere in Latin America, that combination keeps Mexico high on the shortlist even if reforms remain uneven.

Technically, USD/MXN charts show a year of lower highs, with weekly momentum fading rather than accelerating. Daily and four-hour indicators point to consolidation around 18.30, with support at 18.25 and major support near 18.20.

A break below would reopen talk of 18.00, but any hawkish Fed surprise could spark a corrective bounce toward 18.45–18.60.



Equities mirror that pause. The S&P/BMV IPC slipped 0.14 percent on Monday to about 63,551 points, still close to record territory after a strong year that has pushed Mexico's main ETF near 52-week highs and drawn some profit-taking outflows.

Top winners included Industrias Peñoles, Kimberly-Clark de México, Alfa, Axtel and Grupo México. The main losers were GMéxico Transportes, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, Gruma, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico and infrastructure operator PINFRA.

For now the message is that Mexico's rally is intact, but investors are no longer paying any price for the story.

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