511 More Positive Cases; New call to Protect Health Workers

IMSS Nursing Program Division head Fabiana Maribel Zepeda called on the population to protect health personnel who take care for people with COVID-19, after 21 assaults have been recorded so far. “To all the people who believe in us thank you very much. We can save lives, please help us to take care of health workers, we need you,” she said. Zepeda explained nurses and doctors are not carrying the virus on the streets since they go through comprehensive hygiene and disinfection procedures that are not seen by the public.

During today’s report 26 more deaths and 511 contagions were added to the daily account. Regarding the start of Phase 3 Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell said it depends on a number of factors. “Ordering the start of Phase 3 depends on many factors, not only on the number of confirmed cases, but also on the quality of control of the epidemic,” he said.

As of Monday, April 20

511         new cases (from yesterday)

8,772     confirmed cases nationwide

9,653     under investigation

712         deaths

Impact on markets (19.30 hrs)

US Dollar              MX$24.14            (1.19%)

BMV IPC               34,477.06             (-0.77%)

Dow Jones          23,650.44             (-2.44%)

Mexican crude basket closes at -US$2.37

Dragged down by the collapse of the US benchmark WTI in today’s trading, the Mexican crude basket closed on Monday at -US$2.37 per barrel recording a drop of 116.52 percent, according to PEMEX. Oil prices turned negative for the first time in history as North America’s oil producers run out of space to store unsold crude. WTI’s price collapsed from US$18 per barrel to -US$38 in a few hours, forcing oil producers to pay buyers to take the glut of crude that now threatens to saturate oil storage facilities.

PEMEX recovery could take four years

It could take four years for PEMEX to fix its public finances and have enough cash flow to invest without the need of external funds, Moody's corporate finance analyst Nymia Almeida has warned. In a virtual briefing Almeida explained that the recovery of the NOC’s credit note cannot be predicted by a certain date since it is linked to the moment that the company generates sufficient cash flow to invest so that it does not need to increase its debt or have fresh funds from the government. Almeida warned that PEMEX's credit status will also continue to depend on the government's credit rating.

Mexico will not lose investment rating

Mexico will not lose its investment rating in the medium term, since it still has three strengths that limit it from that possibility, Moody's sovereign analyst Arianne Ortiz Bollin has reported. The analyst stressed that Mexico’s level of public debt is manageable. Despite the fall in GDP and the exchange rate depreciation, there is no significant economic imbalance and Banco de México (Banxico) maintains its autonomy, she said. In a video conference, Ortiz explained that Moody’s is being very measured with its credit decisions due to the COVID-19 emergency, but that in the case of Mexico there were other factors that were already pressuring its rating.

Border restriction extended

Mexico and the US agreed to extend restrictions on non-essential land traffic at the border for 30 more days to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has reported. As  happened in the first agreement, both countries will focus on complying with restrictions while shielding the vast amount of trade between them. SRE head Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter that “restrictions on non-essential activities will be maintained on the northern and southern borders in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health.” New restriction will be valid until May 21.

Peso starts week with losses

Pressured by the fall in oil prices, which are operating negative prices for the first time in history, the Mexican currency depreciated 1.19 percent this Monday, to MX$24.15 per dollar according to Banxico. The maximum level during the trading session reached MX$24.20 per dollar very early on the morning, dragged down by the Asian markets.