Mexico Growth Dropped to 2% in 2017

Mexico’s economy grew by 2% in 2017, down from 2.9% in 2016, due to less industrial activity linked to the United States, the country’s statistics bureau INEGI announced, Xinhua reported. In its annual report, INEGI said that industrial activity dropped 0.6% in 2017, compared to 0.4% the year before. However, the services industry saw a reversal, climbing 3% after a 3.9% dip in 2016. While the Mexican economy contracted slightly in the third quarter last year, it rallied in the final quarter with a 1.5% year-on-year growth. Due to the strengthening of the global economy and the depreciation of the peso, Mexico reduced its current account deficit to 1.6% of gross domestic product in 2017 from the 2.1% in 2016, estimated at $18.8 billion, down from $22.8 billion, according to the central bank. The private Mexican bank, Ve por Mas, indicated in a separate report that Mexico’s economic growth in 2018 will stand at 2.2%, due to global economic expansion and the increasing price of raw materials.