Mexico's industrial activity grows 1pc in Sept

Mexico's industrial activity grew 1.0 per cent in September compared to August, its largest increase in nine months, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) has said.

The growth was in direct contrast to the decline observed in September 2017 when it fell 1.2 per cent, according to data from Inegi.

The growth was spurred largely by manufacturing production which grew 1.1 per cent, reports Xinhua.

In respect to the annual comparison, industrial activity grew 1.8 per cent in September year-on-year, for an accumulated growth of 0.5 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period of time last year, Inegi said.

The country’s industrial activity depends in large part on the activity in the United States, the main Mexican business partner.

Banorte,a financial group, said in a report to its clients that the manufacturing activity will continue to boost the local industry, while the mining sector could remain weak.

"In this sense, we believe the persistent downturn in petroleum and gas will continue to be a strong limiting factor in industrial production," said the group.

The country’s economy could register economic growth between 2.0 and 2.6 per cent this year, according to forecasts from the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico).

In 2017, the second largest economy in Latin America, behind Brazil, gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.0 per cent.

Financial authorities have warned about internal and external risks for the economy, including the commercial relationship between Mexico and the United States.