Mexico's peso dropped on Thursday to its lowest level against the dollar since March 2009, when the country was in deep recession. The national currency closed at 15.50 pesos against the dollar, shedding almost one percent from 15.35 pesos a day earlier, according to the private Banamex bank.
Oliver Ambia, a financial expert at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, said the depreciation of the peso was due to "low international oil prices and the country's bad image due to lack of security," which has affected foreign investor sentiment. Falling oil prices have forced the government to slash its budget, while the central bank lowered the growth forecast for this year by half a percentage point to a range of 2.5-3.5 percent. The economy grew 2.1 percent in 2014, lower than initial estimate.