Windfall thanks to Trump

Mexico’s Finance Ministry got a 321.7 billion peso (NZ$24.4 billion) windfall from the country’s central bank after Donald Trump triggered a plunge in the peso last year, boosting foreign currency reserves. The record surplus, announced on the Bank of Mexico’s website on Wednesday, is more than NZ$7.1b higher than last year’s, the ministry said. It will use at least 70 per cent of the funds to reduce its debt burden, with the rest going to the budget stabilisation fund or to strengthen the Mexican Government’s financial position. The peso was the worst-performing currency among the world’s mosttraded and emerging-market currencies last year and is now the best performer among major currencies.