Mexico’s trade surplus was four times larger what they had predicted economic analysts During the month of March, this occurred because the slowdown in demand slowed the level of imports.
The Mexican economy registered a surplus of 2.1 billion dollars in said period, a figure that exceeded the average projection of 450 million dollars of the analysts consulted by Bloomberg.
This is a 5.3 percent drop in exports, to the level of 50.8 billion dollars. While imports plummeted 7.1 percent, to 48.7 billion dollars.
The favorable economic data of trade surplus is “consistent with other data that shows that activity and domestic demand are losing momentum after the fort growth in recent years,” said Felipe Hernández, Latin America analyst for Bloomberg Economics.
“Imports of capital goods fell for the first time since January 2021. That also adds evidence that investment growth is slowing,” he added.
Imports of fuels They decreased by 39 percent during said period, while imports of other goods fell by a level of 3.6 percent.
On the other hand, It is expected that Mexico’s economy will grow 2.4 percent this yearaccording to the expectations of analysts surveyed by Citi.
How much did Mexico’s economy grow during February?
The slowdown of the mexican economy at the beginning of 2024 it was not as pronounced after the upward revisions to the Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE).
During February, the IGAEwhich due to its methodology is similar to GDP, had a monthly growth of 1.4 percentbreaking a four-month streak of no progress, according to seasonally adjusted figures published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
This data was revised upwards, since in the Timely Indicator of Economic Activity (IOAE)presented a few days ago, estimated an advance of 0.6 percent.
For his part, Alfredo Coutiño, director for Latin America at Moody’s Analitycs, said that economic activity began to be stimulated due to the expansive phase of political cycle of the 2024 elections starting in February, in anticipation of the start of political campaigns.
“Political spending began to flow into the economy, promoting transport, printing, media, wholesale trade and especially construction activities. “The political cycle serves the economy once again,” Coutiño said in his X account.
At an annual rate, the IGAE shows a growth of 2.6 percent in February, its best data in three monthsdata that also had an upward revision from 1.7 percent.
By sector, primaries grew 5.8 percent annually in February; tertiary education 3.2 percent and secondary education 1.5 percent.
