Manufactured exports rose 0.47 percent in July from June in seasonally adjusted terms, the national statistics agency INEGI said, helped by a 2.8 percent rise in auto exports. Non-auto exports slid 0.65 percent.
Mexico exports mostly manufactured goods like televisions and cars to the United States as well as industrial components used by American factories to turn out finished products.
Exports have been weak to the United States, Mexico's main market, despite a sharp drop in the peso against the dollar.
Non-oil consumer imports rose 0.26 percent in July from June. Domestic household consumption has helped buoy the Mexican economy while exports and oil production have faltered.
On Monday, data showed Mexico's economy shrank in the second quarter for the first time in three years, as industrial output contracted at its fastest pace since 2009, prompting the government to revise down its 2016 outlook.
Standard & Poor's on Tuesday lowered Mexico's sovereign credit rating outlook to negative from stable, adding that a downgrade could happen in the next two years if the government's debt or interest burden deteriorated.
Mexico posted a $1.022 billion trade deficit in July when adjusted for seasonal swings, the national statistics agency said. In non-seasonally adjusted terms, Mexico posted a trade deficit of $1.827 billion.