HomeBusiness
BusinessNews

Mexico shows US $38M trade surplus in June as exports increase

Cat Rainsford
By Cat Rainsford
0
Car exports, up 20.5% compared to June 2022, likely contributed to the trade surplus. (El Mirador/SCT)

Mexico registered a slight trade surplus of US $38 million in June, with exports totaling $51.8 billion and imports totaling $51.76 billion.

This balance contrasts with a deficit of $3.97 billion in the same month of 2022, according to a press statement by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The first six months of 2023 still showed a trade deficit of US $6.34 billion, however, this is 50.4% less than in the first half of 2022.

Manzanillo port
Mexico’s exports have been steadily increasing, but the country is still running a trade deficit in 2023. (Depositphotos)

Mexican exports in June showed an annual increase of 1.1% and a monthly increase of 0.92%, though they fell short of the March record of $53.56 billion in exports. Non-oil exports were worth $48.95 billion, up 3.7% from June 2022, which compensated for a 28.8% drop in the value of oil exports, to $2.85 billion.

Mexico’s non-oil exports include products from the booming manufacturing sector, such as the automotive industry. This has benefited from strong demand in the United States and companies relocating Asian plants to be closer to U.S. markets, a phenomenon known as nearshoring. 

Mexico became the U.S.’s top trade partner in the first quarter of 2023, with US $196.7 billion in total trade, and maintained this position in April. 

However, while Mexico’s non-oil exports to the U.S. in June showed an annual increase of 2.7%, those to the rest of the world increased even more, by 8.6%.

Oil rig in Pacific Ocean
Backward trends have been observed both in imports and exports of oil. This is partly due to the government’s policy of achieving energy self-sufficiency and exporting less. (Jaochainoi/Istock)

Meanwhile, Mexico’s imports showed an annual decrease of 6.2%, resulting from a 56.3% drop in oil imports and a 3.3% growth in non-oil imports. 

Imports of consumer goods decreased by 11.5% and intermediate use goods by 8.4%. However, imports of capital goods such as factory machinery increased by 28%, again reflecting the boom in Mexico’s manufacturing sector. The same phenomenon was seen in May, when Mexico’s capital goods imports reached a record $5 billion.

The decrease in both exports and imports of oil may reflect progress in President López Obrador’s policy of refining more crude oil at home, with the aim of achieving energy self-sufficiency, rather than exporting crude oil and importing gasoline. 

With reports from Expansión

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
El Mayo

Cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada says he’ll accept a life sentence, but asks for medical care

MND Staff - 1
By pleading guilty early in the process and now indicating that he won't contest any sentence, El Mayo has saved authorities a spectacle of a trial but reduced the chances of new information emerging.
Finance Minister Amador

IMF lowers its Mexican growth forecast, citing ‘uncertainties’ and Mideast conflict

MND Staff - 0
The downgrade was immediately rebuffed by Economy Minister Edgar Amador, who said the IMF overrelied on external factors. He also noted that Mexico outperformed the IMF's forecast last year.
The mountains of Isla Tiburón, seen from Sonora, with cactus and desert vegetation in the foreground

Mexico in Numbers: Mexico’s largest and most populous islands

MND Staff - 0
From remote desert isles to bustling Caribbean tourist hubs, get to know a few of Mexico's 4,000 islands with this week's edition of Mexico in Numbers.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity

VIDEO OF THE WEEK