Emerging Currencies Fall as Cautious Traders Turn to Jobs Data

Most emerging-market currencies fell Monday in a session marked by a stronger dollar as traders remain on stand-by ahead of the release of delayed US economic data that could give further clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.

The MSCI emerging-market currency index closed the session little changed after falling for most of the day on Monday. The South African rand, often a measure of risk appetite, ranked among the worst performers along with the Mexican peso, which sank to session lows after President Donald Trump said it would be “okay with meBloomberg Terminal” if the US were to carry out military strikes inside of Mexico to prevent drugs from entering the US. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, meanwhile, rose 0.3% — its biggest advance since Nov. 4.