USD/MXN struggles to continue gains despite US Treasury yields increase

• USD/MXN gained ground on hawkish FOMC minutes.
• FOMC committee could raise interest rates further if data fails to show progress toward the inflation target.
• Markets expect that Mexican Retail Sales will show a rise on Wednesday’s release.

USD/MXN hovers around 17.2000 with a negative tone during the Asian session on Wednesday. However, the USD/MXN pair received upward support as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) revealed a modestly hawkish tone in the meeting minutes on Tuesday.

Members of the FOMC committee stated that monetary policy may be tightened further if additional data fail to show progress toward the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) inflation target. Board members also agreed that policy should remain restrictive for a little longer, at least until inflation is clearly and stably falling toward the Committee’s target.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) struggles to extend gains, now languishing around 103.60. Despite improved US Treasury rates on Wednesday, the US Dollar (USD) faces hurdles. By press time, the 10-year and 2-year US bond rates had risen to 4.41% and 4.88%, respectively.

Mexican Retail Sales are predicted to rise in Wednesday’s release, while November 1st Half-Month Inflation will be released on Thursday. The Mexico CPI is expected to rise slightly, but the core CPI will fall somewhat.

Furthermore, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) is due to issue its most recent meeting minutes, in which the decision to keep rates unchanged was accompanied by a change in terminology from “for an extended period” to “for some time.”

Furthermore, preliminary estimates cited by Reuters showed that Mexico’s economy gained 2.9% in October on an annual basis.

Investors are expected to look forward to data from the United States (US) on Wednesday, which includes weekly jobless claims and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey. The economic calendar in Mexico remains light, with traders looking for economic data that could influence the Banxico futures choices.