Mexican peso falls; Latam currencies subdued in thin trading

Mexico's peso edged lower on Monday after data pointed to slowing industrial recovery in the country, while other Latin American currencies were muted in light trading as major markets in the region were shut.

The peso fell for the first time in four sessions, sliding 0.4% as industrial output rose 3.3% in August, less than half of July's figure, in Latin America's second largest economy, according to the national statistics agency.

Mexican Industry expanded less in August than in previous months as the country's recovery from a coronavirus shutdown slows.

The government unveiled a fiscal package last week of about $14 billion, which was seen as the first concrete sign of a renewed readiness by corporate bosses to invest under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Mexico's currency has benefited in the recent months from a steady economic rebound in its main trading partner, the United States. The peso is also expected to be sensitive to November's US presidential vote.

Analysts say a victory for Democrat Joe Biden could bode well for emerging markets.

"A Biden presidency will likely be seen as a favorable outcome given a less confrontational approach on tariffs, with the primary beneficiaries like the Chinese yuan, Mexican peso and South African rand," said FX strategists at J.P. Morgan.

"A Biden presidency with a split Congress is likely to be considered the most positive outcome."

Mexican equities were marginally higher after the main stock exchange suspended operations before midday on Friday due to what it said was as an outage in the system used to process trading orders.

The Chilean peso fell 0.2%, while Colombia's peso was little changed against the dollar.

An International Monetary Fund mission concluded a visit to Argentina on Sunday, after several days of preliminary talks aimed at repaying about $44 billion owed by the cash-strapped government to the fund, a government source said.

Stock markets in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Argentina were closed on Monday, due to public holidays in the regions. FX markets in Brazil and Argentina were shut.