The Brazilian real depreciated 12% this year. The WisdomTree Brazilian Real Fund (NYSEArca: BZF) is down 7.8% year-to-date. Meanwhile, the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWZ), which tracks Brazilian real-denominated large- and mid-cap stocks, has declined 17.5% year-to-date. [Tapering Could Slam These Two EM Currencies]
On the other hand, Mexico is expected to benefit from trade growth with a recovering U.S. economy and increased foreign direct investments as the government opens its oil industry.
“For the Mexican peso, our scenario is positive partly because of the country’s proximity to the U.S., and the recovery there will have a positive effect on the currency,” Sebastian Brown, an economist and currency strategist at Barclays Plc, said in the article. “The energy reform will have an important effect in increasing Mexico’s attractiveness for foreign investors, and the currency has some space to strengthen versus the dollar.”
The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWW) is down 2.4% this year. [A Fiesta Could Await the Mexico ETF in 2014]
For more information on Latin American economies, visit our Latin America category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.