Mexico’s peso sank to the lowest level in almost three weeks against the dollar on concern an outbreak of the deadly swine flu will deepen the country’s recession.
The peso depreciated as much as 3.5 percent, the steepest intraday slide since Nov. 5, and was 2.6 percent lower at 13.6978 per dollar at 8:18 a.m. in New York. The decline was the biggest among 176 currencies tracked by Bloomberg worldwide.
The flu outbreak may reduce demand for pesos from tourists and curb consumer spending at restaurants, theaters and other venues where crowds gather, said Gerardo Margolis, a vice president for emerging markets at TD Securities Inc. in Toronto. The virus may have claimed more than 100 lives so far in Mexico, Health Minister Jose Cordova said.
The spread of the swine flu “has an immediate economic impact and investors will be cautious,” Margolis said. “There will be a drop in consumption and tourism and that affects the currency.”
The peso depreciated as much as 3.5 percent, the steepest intraday slide since Nov. 5, and was 2.6 percent lower at 13.6978 per dollar at 8:18 a.m. in New York. The decline was the biggest among 176 currencies tracked by Bloomberg worldwide.
The flu outbreak may reduce demand for pesos from tourists and curb consumer spending at restaurants, theaters and other venues where crowds gather, said Gerardo Margolis, a vice president for emerging markets at TD Securities Inc. in Toronto. The virus may have claimed more than 100 lives so far in Mexico, Health Minister Jose Cordova said.
The spread of the swine flu “has an immediate economic impact and investors will be cautious,” Margolis said. “There will be a drop in consumption and tourism and that affects the currency.”
