US Presidential election 2016: Peso plunges to record low as Donald Trump moves towards the White House
The Mexican peso has plummeted 11.5 per cent early this morning, as Republican candidate Donald Trump moves towards victory in the US Presidential election.
Mexico's central bank has announced it will hold a news conference this morning after the peso hit its lowest levels in history. Economists have said the bank is likely to raise its key interest rate by at least 75 basis points today if Trump wins the US election.
The peso is at a record low, of $0.04829.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Mexico's currency is seen by many as a bellwether for this year's US election – David Bloom, head of foreign exchange at HSBC has previously described the peso as a "Trump thermometer" – and the peso has seemed to track Donald Trump's fortunes in reverse over the last few months, i.e. when Trump's campaign was in trouble, the peso was stronger.
Forecasts ahead of the election had indicated that the US economy would be in for a painful period if Trump took the White House – but a victory for the property tycoon was always expected to mean a positive outcome for the dollar against the peso in the short term.