MEXICO CITY: Mexico's economy probably expanded around 3.7 percent in the July-September quarter of this year, the Finance Ministry said on Friday as the country recovers from a steep 2009 recession.
Mexico's growth outlook could get a boost if economic activity picks up in the United States, Mexico's largest trading partner. The US economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest in a year.
Analysts polled by the central bank see Mexican growth this year at 3.7 percent.
The Finance Ministry also said on Friday that Mexico's public-sector fiscal deficit narrowed to 6.5 billion pesos ($499 million) in September. In August, the public sector ran a fiscal deficit of 8.2 billion pesos.
President Felipe Calderon shrank the public-sector budget deficit after it widened during the recession.
Mexican lawmakers approved a budget plan this month that would drive the country's fiscal deficit in 2012 to 0.4 percent of gross domestic product, higher than the 0.2 percent originally proposed by Calderon. Last year's deficit cap was 0.5 percent, excluding investment by state oil monopoly Pemex.
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