Mexico’s central bank began auctioning off $52 million per day Wednesday in a bid to stabilize the rapidly devaluing peso, which had fallen to a historic low amid expectations of interest rate hikes in the United States.
The new auctions, which will last through June 8, are in addition to a mechanism that offers $200 million to slow the peso’s fall when it drops at least 1.5 percent in a single day.
That mechanism has been used twice so far this year. Mexico has more than $194 billion in international reserves.
Wednesday’s move appeared initially to have the desired effect. The peso’s interbank rate closed at 15.4655 per dollar, up from Tuesday’s close of 15.62. The previous low of 15.49 was established on March 9, 2009.
