MEXICO CITY: Mexico swung to a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in April powered by record exports, as US demand helped to fuel a recovery in Latin America's second largest economy, official data showed on Tuesday.

National statistics agency INEGI said that adjusted for seasonal swings, Mexico posted a $249 million trade surplus last month after logging a deficit of nearly $3.4 billion in March.

In unadjusted terms, Mexico's trade surplus was just over $1.5 billion in April. That compared with a Reuters poll forecast for an unadjusted surplus of $850 million.

A breakdown of the INEGI figures showed that Mexico sold $40.3 billion worth of exports in April in adjusted terms, 0.2% higher than the previous month, which was also a record.

April's exports were up by more than 74% from the same month in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hammered the economy and brought much of Mexican manufacturing output to a halt.

All told, the economy shrank by 8.5% last year, but US stimulus spending is expected to help lift Mexican gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021. The United States is the destination for around 80% of Mexico's exports.

An increasing number of economic forecasters predict that Mexican GDP could expand by 5% or more this year.