Getty ImagesIt’s been a rough year for the Mexican peso.The Mexican peso fell to its lowest level against the dollar since its 1993 revaluation on Wednesday. It USDMXN, +0.1258% sank to 15.81 pesos to the dollar, before recovering slightly. It traded at 15.72 pesos to the dollar on Tuesday. The peso has been moving lower against the dollar all year, part of a broader selloff in emerging-market currencies. Here’s the chart. FactSet But a spate of strong U.S. economic data, and a weak reading on Mexican manufacturing activity, appeared to be the catalysts for the move on Wednesday. The currency has weakened by 7% against the dollar since the beginning of the year, as economic growth has consistently disappointed and inflation has stagnated. Meanwhile, the price of crude oil, the country’s largest export, has been stuck below $60 a barrel. Currency speculators have also helped weaken the peso by using it as a funding currency for carry trades, said Mark McCormick, a global FX strategist at Crédit Agricole. Speculators are attracted to it for several reasons. The market for the peso is very liquid, making it easy for speculators to quickly buy, or sell, large quantities of the currency. And Mexico’s benchmark interest rate is at 3%, a record low. That, coupled with low inflation, makes borrowing in pesos incredibly cheap. The currency is also more sensitive to market risk than its emerging-market peers, McCormick said, which helps boost carry-trade profits. And with the Federal Reserve likely to raise interest rates before the end of the year, it could weaken further as higher rates make the dollar more attractive to foreign investors. MarketWatch