The Mexican peso made new gains against the dollar on Thursday after recovering from a brief pause in its seven-day winning streak. 

The Mexican currency closed at 18.66 pesos per U.S. dollar Thursday, its strongest level since August 15, 2024. The per-dollar rate broke the 19 barrier in June. 

The peso continued to gain on Friday, coming in at 18.63 to the dollar shortly after 1 p.m. Mexican Central Standard Time.

The peso’s rise comes at a time when markets appear to have temporarily set aside concerns over the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Meanwhile, concerns about tariff negotiations between Mexico and the U.S. are resurfacing, El Economista reported.

Even as the peso rose against it, the dollar strengthened after the release of better-than-expected U.S. employment data, with job creation figures surpassing the consensus. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against six international currencies, rose 0.35% to 96.77.

Despite persisting trade and fiscal uncertainties in the U.S., the upbeat jobs report helped lift the dollar off recent lows. 

Far from confirming the slowdown that analysts had forecast, U.S. job creation rose to 147,000 — significantly higher than the forecast of 110,000. This rise contributed to an unexpected decline in the unemployment rate, dropping from 4.2% to 4.1%. Analysts had anticipated it would rise to 4.3%.

With reports from La Jornada and El Economista