Mexican economy grows strongly in Q2 on U.S. demand

[July 30, 2021]  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's economy bounced back to annual growth in the second quarter, boosted by manufacturing for export to top trade partner the United States, a preliminary estimate from the national statistics agency showed on Friday.

People walk past a building undergoing construction in Mexico City, Mexico January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, when the formal and informal economy was largely shut down by pandemic restrictions, growth was 19.7%, the statistics agency said.

That was the first year-on-year quarterly growth since before the pandemic, and close to the number forecast in a Reuters survey of 14 analysts. [L1N2P21IX]

Quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted growth was 1.5%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of economic expansion. It was lower than the 1.7% forecast by analysts.

Hammered by restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Latin America's second-largest economy shrank 8.5% in 2020, its worst performance since 1932, during the Great Depression.

The recovery since has been led by demand from the United States for the cars and electronics made in Mexican factories, while remittances sent by migrants north of the border have helped domestic consumers.

Secondary activities, which include factories, rebounded by 28.2% in the April to June period, while tertiary activities, including trade and financial services, were up 17.1%, the data showed.

(Reporting by Abraham Gonzalez and Ricardo Figueroa Salas; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Catherine Evans)

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