Mexico's economy is pulling out of its deepest recession since the 1930s but the recovery will be slow, senior officials said on Friday as industrial production data showed improvement. Mexico's economic output in the third quarter will be larger than in the April-June period, Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Werner told reporters, marking the end of a year-long recession.
Supporting views that the economy is expanding, Mexican industrial output rose 2.84 percent in July from June, the national statistics agency said. That was the fastest month-over-month growth in industrial production in four years, although still 6.5 percent less than a year ago. Experts predict mild growth for the rest of 2009, but few economic indicators are available so far and it remains unclear whether a lasting recovery has begun.
"The little data available, like automobile production, employment and consumption, show that all these statistics grew in the third quarter versus the second quarter," Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Werner told reporters before release of the industrial data. Hit by slumping US demand for its exports, Mexico's economy has fallen sharply over the past year as factories closed assembly lines and consumer confidence plunged.
Even with mild growth in the second half of the year, the economy's overall decline for 2009 is expected to be about 7 percent. Unemployment is expected to remain high for months. Addressing business leaders at another event, Central Bank Governor Manuel Sanchez also said a recovery appears to have started but warned that any rebound would be gradual.