The Mexican peso hovered near 18 per US dollar as a firmer greenback continued to offset domestic support, even as Banxico’s latest minutes reinforced a cautious but not aggressively dovish policy outlook. Following the widely expected 25 bp cut to 7.00% in December, the minutes emphasized a data dependent approach, noting that while disinflation is progressing, underlying pressures, particularly in core components, still warrant prudence. Policymakers signalled no urgency to accelerate easing, framing future cuts as conditional rather than pre committed, which helped anchor expectations after the initial narrowing of the rate differential. Headline inflation eased to 3.69% in December while core inflation slowed to 4.33%, broadly in line with forecasts, supporting the view that inflation risks are moderating without fully disappearing. Against this backdrop, resilient US data kept the dollar supported and limited peso appreciation, leaving MXN trading sideways.
