Mexico’s Finance Ministry confirmed that it spent about $1.23 billion to protect 2019 revenues against falling crude prices in the world’s largest annual oil deal. The oil producer locked in hedges at $55 a barrel, equivalent to the price approved by lawmakers for the 2019 budget, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The total expense comes to about 23.5 billion pesos. Mexico has in recent years spent around $1 billion on average buying financial put options from Wall Street banks, a closely-watched set of trades that typically covers 200 million to 300 million barrels and has the potential to roil markets. The ... (full story)