Mexico Pays $1 Billion to Hedge Its 2020 Oil Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico paid $1 billion to protect its 2020 oil exports against steep price fluctuations, Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said Thursday.

In a departure from previous years, the Finance Ministry did not disclose how much it paid for the coverage when it announced the conclusion of the hedge last week.

Herrera was prompted to reveal the price at the request of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The hedge price is consistent with amounts paid by Mexico in recent years as part of a highly anticipated and intricate transaction that catches the attention of many global banks.

Herrera said the oil hedge is very important to protect Mexico’s oil exports, which represent about 4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City at cbarrerad@bloomberg.net;Eric Martin in Mexico City at emartin21@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ney Hayashi at ncruz4@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.