Mexico

Several members of Mexico’s central bank expressed concern about the inflationary impact of tariffs that could be imposed by US President-elect Donald Trump after he takes office on Jan. 20, Bloomberg News reported. Members of the Banco de Mexico board said that the 25% tariffs that Trump pledged in November to impose on Mexico and Canada have created additional uncertainty for the economy, according to the minutes of the Dec. 19 monetary policy decision published Thursday. Despite the board’s willingness to forge ahead with cuts, tariffs and other factors led to notes of caution.

After complaints by billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s companies, prosecutors in Mexico have been seeking the arrest of family members associated with what was one of the country’s biggest shadow banks, Bloomberg News reported. Almudena Lebois, a former board member of Unifin Financiera SAB and daughter of the founder, was arrested late last week on charges of attempted fraud before a state of Mexico judge dismissed the case. Court records show the charges were sparked by allegations from a company owned by Salinas.

Mexico cut interest rates for a fourth straight meeting Thursday as inflation is slowing back to target and the economy is losing momentum, Bloomberg News reported. Banxico, as the central bank is known, lowered borrowing costs by a quarter-point to 10% in an unanimous decision. The move was forecast by 21 of 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The remaining eight predicted that the bank would accelerate the pace of easing with a half-point cut.

Mexico’s headline inflation slowed slightly more than expected in November, boosting the odds of a fourth straight interest rate cut at the central bank’s meeting next week, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Monday showed consumer prices rose 4.55% from a year prior, under both the 4.6% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and the 4.76% reading in October. Monthly inflation stood at 0.44%.

Mexico’s finance ministry is preparing to enlist a consortium of banks to provide financing that Petroleos Mexicanos would use to pay off debt with service providers, according to a recording of remarks made by its CEO, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned oil company is coordinating with the finance ministry, which would potentially take on debt on its behalf to pay the service contractors, Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez said at a private event on Friday hosted by Mexico’s College of Petroleum Engineers.

Donald Trump’s new tariff pledges send a clear signal that he wants to rewrite the terms of North America’s free-trade pact and follow through with plans to hit China with tariffs, demonstrating to allies and adversaries alike that he is serious about renewing confrontation over a global trading system that he believes costs the U.S. dearly, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Mexico will transfer 136 billion pesos ($6.7 billion) to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to cover debt payments in 2025, according to the budget proposal presented to Congress on Friday, Bloomberg News reported. The driller’s proposed budget for next year totals 464 billion pesos, with an estimated surplus of 249 billion pesos, according to the document. The cash injection will be used to pay debt taken with the market and with banks. Mexico also expects the company’s oil output to reach 1.89 million barrels per day next year, with an average oil cost of $57.80 per barrel.

Mexico’s president lashed out Friday at Moody’s ratings service, after it downgraded the Mexican government’s debt outlook to “negative,” the Associated Press reported. Moody’s said that it had downgraded the government's debt outlook from “stable” to “negative” because newly approved laws in Mexico could weaken the judiciary branch and checks and balances. It reaffirmed Mexico’s Baa2 overall credit rating, but said increased government debt represented a risk for Mexico.

Mexico plans to set aside about $6 billion for state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos in its 2025 draft budget, people familiar with the matter said, as the government signals continued support for the indebted oil producer, Bloomberg News reported. The budget will include support for Pemex’s debt obligations next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified revealing details of the proposal that’s scheduled to be released on Nov. 15. The company has around $9 billion in debt coming due next year and roughly $13 billion in 2026, when maturities will peak.