Mexico raises rates and cuts spending to support peso

The Mexican government says it is dropping daily dollar auctions, raising interest rates and cutting government spending by 0.7 percent of GDP to counter the falling peso and oil revenues.

The Treasury Department says it will cut federal spending by the equivalent of about $7.2 billion dollars, and the Bank of Mexico said it would raise interbank interest rates from 3.25 percent to 3.75 percent.

The peso's interbank rate rose to 18.29 to $1 on Wednesday, after . . .