2024-03-12 23:22:30
MEXICO Mexico’s economy is advancing at a differentiated pace at the beginning of 2024, with the services and commerce sector leading the dynamism, indicated this Friday, March 1, the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives (IMEF).
The IMEF Manufacturing indicator decreased 1.7 points in February compared to the previous month, its biggest drop in just under a year, to be in the contraction zone, registering a level of 49.9 units, the private organization indicated in a statement.
For its part, the IMEF Non-Manufacturing indicator increased 0.9 points in the second month of the year to stand at 52.9 units, its twenty-fifth month in a row in expansion territory, he added.
“According to the above, it is possible to say that the services and commerce sector continue to lead the dynamism of the economy at the beginning of the year,” explained the IMEF, which brings together the main financial managers of the Mexican corporate sector.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing industry, which largely depends on the economic cycles of the United States, could begin to show “some weakness” in the first quarter of 2024, the agency added.
For the February economic analysis, the IMEF said it took into account that 2024 will be a year of global economic slowdown, associated with the delayed effects of restrictive monetary policies, the withdrawal of fiscal stimuli and the erosion of purchasing power.
Regarding Mexico, the institute highlighted the recovery achieved since the deep contraction of 2020, but raised questions such as the long-term expansion path, the role of public policies or reforms and the potential effects of “nearshoring”, a term that refers to the relocation of global companies.
The Mexican economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil, grew 3.2 percent in 2023, according to the most recent official figures. The Government of Mexico estimates economic growth for the country of between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent in 2024.
By: XINHUA