Mexico rejected Donald Trump's assertion that it would pay for a border wall. The U.S.'s southern neighbor is also worried about the impact of Trump's trade policies on its economy. Photo: AP/Zuma Press 
 
 Global investors are fleeing Mexico’s financial markets, sending the peso to record lows on mounting concerns that Donald Trump’s trade policy could end the country’s privileged status among developing countries. 
 
 The peso on Wednesday tumbled to another all-time low against the dollar as Mr. Trump pledged to change U.S. trade policy with Mexico. “Mexico has taken advantage of the United States,” he said during his press conference.... 

 MEXICO CITY The Mexican peso MXN= weakened to a historic low of 22.04 per dollar and the country's stock index fell on Wednesday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned U.S. auto companies would face a high tax for products made south of the border. 
 
 Speaking at a news conference in New York, Trump also reiterated that the United States would start building a southern border wall after he took office next week. He said Mexico would reimburse the cost either through a tax or a payment. 
 
 The Mexican currency regained some ground after passing the psychological 22 peso barrier to trade at 21.77 per dollar at 13:09 a.m. eastern (1709 GMT). The IPC stock index .MXX fell 0.73 pct to 45,550. 
 
 The peso was the worst-performing major currency last year, weakening 20 percent against the dollar as Trump closed in on the U.S. presidency. 
 
 The depreciation has sped up in 2017 after Trump told major automakers last week to expect high taxes on vehicles made in Mexico that are sold in the United States. 
 
 On Wednesday, Trump congratulated Ford (F.N) and Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) for announcing plant expansions in the United States. He said General Motors, another major investor in Mexico, should follow suit, reiterating the threat of new taxes on Mexican-made autos. 
 
 He said he would not wait for negotiations with Mexico to be completed before starting to build a wall along the two countries' border. 
 
 "I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiations with Mexico which will start immediately after we get into office, but I don't want to wait," Trump said. 
 
 "Mexico in some form ... will reimburse us," Trump added. 
 
 He said his vice president-elect Mike Pence was "leading an effort to get final approvals through various agencies and through Congress for the wall to begin." 
 
 Mexico has repeatedly said it will never pay for a barrier it considers an insult to national dignity. 
 
 "Neither today, nor tomorrow nor never Mexico will pay for that stupid wall. If Trump wants a monument to his ego, let him pay for it!!," former president Vicente Fox, said on Twitter during the news conference, describing the U.S. leader as "a bully and a bluff." 
 
 (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez, Paulina Osorio and David Alire Garcia; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Andrew Hay) 

 MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s peso MXX=D2 slumped to a new low against the dollar on Tuesday, fueled by concern about the policies of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and comments by an economic think tank that further depreciation is “almost inevitable.” 
 
 Mexican pesos and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this picture illustration, November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido 
 
 The peso was the worst-performing major currency last year, weakening 20 percent against the dollar as Trump closed in on the U.S. presidency. It skidded further to a low of 21.8275 per dollar by mid-afternoon, dipping 2 percent. 
 
 The depreciation has accelerated in the first few days of 2017 after Trump told major automakers last week to expect high taxes on vehicles made in Mexico that are sold in the United States as he attempts to bring back manufacturing jobs. 
 
 As long as uncertainty persists about what Trump will do once he takes office on Jan. 20, the peso could face more pressure. 
 
 “It’s foreseeable. I’d say almost inevitable that it keeps on depreciating,” said Jose Angel Gurria, secretary general for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development at a news conference in Mexico City. 
 
 The peso has fallen by more than 5 percent against the dollar since Jan. 1, according to Reuters data. 
 
 Gurria, who served as Mexico’s finance minister from 1998 to 2000, said Mexico’s central bank, which sold $2 billion in dollar reserves last week to support the peso, had helped prevent a deeper crash. But he warned it could not burn through too many greenbacks. 
 
 Many analysts fear the peso’s fall is fueling higher inflation, which picked up to its fastest pace in 2 years last month. 
 
 Consumer prices could be further fanned by a double digit gasoline price hike this month that has spurred protests, looting and road blockades. 
 
 “Without a doubt, it will have a one-off inflationary impact,” Gurria said, referring to fuel prices. Mexico’s government has said the hike would not hit inflation. 
 
 Trump has vowed to withdraw from a joint trade deal with Mexico if he cannot renegotiate it in the United States’ favor, and he has threatened hefty tariffs on Mexican-made goods. 
 
 At the launch of his campaign in mid-2015, the New York real estate magnate riled many Mexicans by pledging to build a border wall to keep out illegal immigrants, accusing Mexico of sending rapists and drug runners across the border. 
 
 Trump said on Friday that Mexico would repay the United States for the wall, a day after news emerged that his transition team was exploring getting the Republican-led Congress to vote to approve funding. 
 
 Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray on Tuesday restated the government’s position that his country will not pay for the wall, and he noted that uncertainty over future trade relations is impeding investment to Mexico.
– The Mexican peso hit an all-time low against the dollar Wednesday shortly after President-elect Donald Trump took the stage, reports Reuters, falling to 22 pesos on the dollar. The peso was already in freefall, dropping 2% on Tuesday and almost 16% against the dollar since Trump's election victory amid fears that his administration will renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. The thinking is that such a move would bring tariffs against Mexico—which sends 80% of its exports to the US—sparking a recession, reports the Wall Street Journal. The dip would have been greater if Mexico's central bank hadn't sold $2 billion in dollar reserves last week, per Reuters. But a former Mexican finance minister adds further depreciation is "almost inevitable." Inflation also hit its fastest pace in two years in December. "A renegotiation of NAFTA would basically kill Mexico's growth model," says an economist, adding strict trade terms could shrink Mexico's economy by 3.3% this year after 2.1% growth in 2016. "Trump is manipulating Mexico's currency through his tweets—against the US interest," adds a former Mexican trade official. He argues a declining peso could mean less Mexicans buying American goods and more illegal immigration across the border. The peso also plunged in 1995, when Mexico received a $12.5 billion loan from Washington, since repaid. But "Trump has a very adversarial relationship with Mexico and would likely be much less cooperative in terms of bilateral aid," a strategist says. (Mexico's leaders are still scoffing at Trump's "stupid" wall.)