Mexico industrial output up in June on factory, oil rebound

11 Aug, 2015

MEXICO CITY: Mexican industrial output rose in June, bouncing back from a steep drop in the previous month as manufacturing, construction and oil production picked up, official data showed on Tuesday.

Industrial output rose 0.2 percent in June from May, the national statistics agency said.

That was just below expectations for a 0.3 percent expansion in a Reuters poll. Factory output edged up 0.1 percent from May. Mexico sends nearly 80 percent of its exports, mostly factory goods, to the United States.

The construction sector, which also is a component of industrial production, rose 0.4 percent month-on-month.

Mexico's economy grew at its slowest pace in more than a year in the first quarter, undermined by flagging oil production and weak US demand for exports.

Data on Tuesday, however, showed mining expanded by 1.1 percent in June from May, with oil and gas extraction rising 1.2 percent in its second monthly increase in a row.

Declining Mexican crude production had been weighing on growth, and a slump in global oil prices has curbed expectations for a tide of funds into the country's energy sector, which was recently opened to private investment.

Compared with June 2014, industrial output rose 1.4 percent , above expectations for a 1.0 percent expansion.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the annual rate of expansion was 0.6 percent, the statistics agency said.

Copyright Reuters, 2015

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