Mexico City - Mexico's central bank sold 1.096 billion dollars of its foreign exchange reserves Thursday to boost the peso.

The Bank of Mexico sold 1 billion dollars as markets opened and the remainder later in the day.

The value of the dollar went as high as 14.30 pesos before the bank's intervention, although it closed at 13.79 pesos.

Mexico's central bank has sold more than 13 billion dollars since October 8, but the price of the dollar continues to rise. It was worth about 11.2 pesos on October 1.

For Mexican officials, an acceptable currency rate would be a maximum of about 11.40 pesos to the dollar. The government has promised to intervene in the currency markets with about 400 million dollars per day for as long as necessary to protect the peso. (dpa)