MEXICO'S PESO RISES AS UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS MORE THAN FORECAST

Mexico's peso is headed for its biggest gain in a month as the unemployment rate in February fell more than forecast.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday, The currency gained 0.8 per cent to 12.4899 per United States dollar at 12:12 p.m. New-York time, from 12.5857 yesterday. It has strengthened 4.8 per cent this year, the best performance against the dollar among the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.43 per cent in February, from 5.87 per cent in January, the national statistics agency said today. Economists forecast a jobless rate of 5.7 per cent, according to the median of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The unemployment number in Mexico 'is a good sign that signals steady improvement and progress of the economy,' said Aryam Vazquez, an emerging-markets economist at Wells Fargo & Company in New York. 'This certainly brightens the outlook of the economy on the demand side, which had been somewhat weak.'

The yield on Mexico's 10 per cent peso bond due in 2024 fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 8.01 per cent, according to Banco Santander SA. The price of the security rose 0.12 centavo to 117.11 centavos per peso.