Mexican Industrial Production Picked Up in August -- Update
12 October 2019 - 1:10AM
Dow Jones News
By Anthony Harrup
MEXICO CITY--Mexican industrial production picked up in August,
rising from the previous month as gains in construction and oil and
gas production were partly offset by a decline in factory
output.
Industrial production increased 0.8% from July in seasonally
adjusted terms, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.
Mining output rose 5.2%, including a 4% increase in oil and gas
production, and construction activity rose 2.3%. Manufacturing
production was down 0.4%.
Within manufacturing, declines in vehicles and auto parts,
electronic equipment and processed foods were partly offset by
higher production of metals, metal products and machinery.
The overall industrial performance was better than analysts had
expected, although several remained cautious about the months
ahead.
"With the key manufacturing sector facing a slowdown, we expect
that conditions for industry as a whole will remain weak later this
year," Capital Economics said in a note. The research firm noted
weakness in manufacturing surveys, and the impact that the General
Motors Co. (GM) strike in the U.S. is having on its Mexican
plants.
Mexico's production of cars and light trucks had fallen 9.6% in
August from a year earlier, and in September was down 0.4% from a
year before in its fifth consecutive month of declines.
Overall industrial production was down 1.3% from August of 2018,
and off 1.7% in the first eight months of the year.
"Tight financial conditions, lingering policy uncertainty, soft
business confidence, and slowing external demand will likely
continue to generate headwinds to both the construction and
manufacturing sectors in 2019," Goldman Sachs said in a note.
Industrial output contracted for three consecutive quarters
through the second quarter of this year, and has been a drag on the
overall economy. Gross domestic product contracted in the first
quarter of the year and was flat in the second.
Preliminary third-quarter GDP numbers are due to be published
Oct. 30.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthny.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 11, 2019 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)
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