Mexico’s economy grows 3.7% in first quarter 2023, according to Inegi revision

Mexico’s economy grew 3.7 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2022, supported by service sector activity, according to revised figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) released yesterday, Friday.

On April 28th, Inegi reported a preliminary growth of 3.9 percent between January and March of Mexico’s economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil.

Inegi’s revision determined that the services sector, the largest contributor to the economy, grew by 4.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, while industrial activity grew by 2.5 percent in the same comparison.

The agricultural sector, with a minimal contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expanded by 2.3 percent year-on-year in the reference period, according to Inegi’s original figures.

In a report issued separately, Grupo Financiero Banorte warned that despite the first quarter’s expansion, the risk of a slowdown in the local economy persists “with a greater dichotomy between manufacturing and services.”

“It is important to mention that our base scenario contemplates that there will be no high-impact disruption in the short term,” Banorte mentioned, such as payment defaults in the United States, contagion from bankruptcies in the banking sector, or a resurgence of armed conflict in Eastern Europe.

“Under that assumption, we reiterate our GDP growth expectation of 2.0 percent for the full year,” he added.

In 2022, the Mexican economy grew by 3.0 percent, according to figures revised by Inegi.

Private analysts consulted by the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) estimate that Mexico’s economy will grow by 1.60 percent in 2023.

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