Amid speculation that Mexico could follow the United States into recession next year, new data shows that the Mexican economy grew 1% in August compared to the previous month and almost 5% in annual terms.
Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Tuesday showed that the primary sector of the economy grew 3.6% in August compared to July, the tertiary sector expanded 1.2% and the secondary sector remained steady with no month-over-month variation.
The overall 1% growth was well above expectations and the best month-over-month result for the Mexican economy since April, when GDP increased 1.2% compared to March. It came after month-over-month growth of 0.5% in July and a 0.2% contraction in June.
INEGI also reported that the economy expanded 4.7% in annual seasonally adjusted terms in August. The primary sector expanded 4.3% compared to August 2021, the secondary sector grew 3% and the tertiary sector gained 5.4%.
Mexico’s economy grew from July to August, as well as on an annual basis from August 2021, but growth wasn’t evenly divided among the economic sectors.
The annual growth figure was the best since July 2021, when the size of the economy was 7.7% larger than a year earlier.
The latest data is welcome news for Mexico as “storm clouds gather over the global economy,” according to the International Monetary Fund.
The news agency Bloomberg reported last week that “a near-certain U.S. recession” in 2023 “will likely pull Mexico’s economy into a contraction.”
The World Bank is more optimistic than Bloomberg, forecasting growth of 1.5% next year.
With reports from El Economista
