Investors Ignore Downgrade: Mexico Pesos Rises

Via Bloomberg.com:
Mexico’s peso rose to a one-month high as investors at a Spanish debt auction shrugged off last week’s downgrade of the European nation, fueling optimism for global growth and the Latin American country’s exports.

The peso strengthened 0.5 percent to 13.4795 per U.S. dollar at 8:32 a.m. in Mexico City, from 13.5528 yesterday. The currency touched 13.4507 in intraday trading, the strongest level since Dec. 8. It’s appreciated 3.4 percent this year after tumbling 11.5 percent in 2011.

“The placement of sovereign debt had favorable results,” Rafael Camarena, an economist at Banco Santander SA in Mexico City, said in a telephone interview. “Basically, despite all the news that we’ve seen about Europe, financial markets didn’t see it as being bad. This is improving the European environment, benefitting emerging-market currencies including the peso.”