Banxico minutes hint at more rate cuts ahead
|Banco de Mexico (Banxico) released on Thursday its minutes of the September 25 meeting, in which the central bank reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 7.50%, reaching the lowest level since May 2022.
Banxico's decision had one dissenter on Deputy Governor Heath
Banxico’s decision was not unanimous, as Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath voted to hold rates unchanged at 7.75%. He “highlighted the inflationary risks that could result from Mexico's proposed tariffs on Chinese imports, including cars, textiles and steel.”
The minutes revealed that Banxico will assess further cuts, considering the USD/MXN exchange rate, the weakness of economic activity and the impact of tariffs.
Most board members stated that inflation has remained below its historical average and has shown a stable behavior. Some of the policymakers said that core inflation has been affected by the shock to livestock product prices.
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Banxico FAQs
The Bank of Mexico, also known as Banxico, is the country’s central bank. Its mission is to preserve the value of Mexico’s currency, the Mexican Peso (MXN), and to set the monetary policy. To this end, its main objective is to maintain low and stable inflation within target levels – at or close to its target of 3%, the midpoint in a tolerance band of between 2% and 4%.
The main tool of the Banxico to guide monetary policy is by setting interest rates. When inflation is above target, the bank will attempt to tame it by raising rates, making it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow money and thus cooling the economy. Higher interest rates are generally positive for the Mexican Peso (MXN) as they lead to higher yields, making the country a more attractive place for investors. On the contrary, lower interest rates tend to weaken MXN. The rate differential with the USD, or how the Banxico is expected to set interest rates compared with the US Federal Reserve (Fed), is a key factor.
Banxico meets eight times a year, and its monetary policy is greatly influenced by decisions of the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Therefore, the central bank’s decision-making committee usually gathers a week after the Fed. In doing so, Banxico reacts and sometimes anticipates monetary policy measures set by the Federal Reserve. For example, after the Covid-19 pandemic, before the Fed raised rates, Banxico did it first in an attempt to diminish the chances of a substantial depreciation of the Mexican Peso (MXN) and to prevent capital outflows that could destabilize the country.
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