MEXICO CITY, Sep 23 (Reuters) – The Mexican peso appreciated on Thursday amid a decline in the dollar and after local inflation data was released that reinforced expectations that the central bank will raise the benchmark interest rate next week, while the Stock market was advancing like Wall Street.
* The local currency was trading at 20.0047 per dollar, a gain of 0.39% compared to 20.0831 in the Reuters reference price on Wednesday.
* Meanwhile, the local benchmark S & P / BMV IPC index rose 0.38% mid-day to 51,534.90 points with a volume of 64.3 million securities traded.
* Mexico’s year-on-year inflation accelerated above expectations in the first half of September and remained well above the central bank’s official target.
* “It is very likely that inflation will close the year above 6.0% and with it that Banxico will decide to raise its funding rate another 25 basis points at its meeting on September 30,” CI Banco analysts wrote in a report.
* The dollar fell as an improving appetite for risk in global financial markets erased all gains it made in the previous session after the Federal Reserve signaled plans to begin reducing stimulus this year.
* The Fed said Wednesday that it could start cutting its monthly bond purchases as early as November, and that interest rates could rise faster than expected next year.
(Report by Miguel Angel Gutiérrez)