Mexican industrial output unexpectedly slipped in April, hit by the sharpest drop in crude oil production in nearly seven years even as factories posted their strongest growth since late 2009. Industrial output dipped 0.1 percent in April compared to May, the national statistics agency said on Thursday, below expectations for a 0.1 percent expansion in a Reuters poll. Among key components, oil output fell 5.3 percent compared with the prior month, its steepest drop since August 2007.
Mexican crude production has been declining and a slump in global oil prices has dampened expectations for a tide of investment under the country's recent opening of its energy sector to private investment. Factory output rose 2 percent in April compared with May, its biggest jump since November 2009 when the country began to climb out of a deep recession. Mexico sends nearly 80 percent of its exports, mostly factory goods, to the United States. Latin America's No 2 economy grew at its slowest pace in over a year in the first quarter, undermined by flagging oil production and weak US demand for exports. ]The construction sector - which also is a component of industrial production - barely expanded, growing 0.1 percent in April compared to May. Compared with April 2014, industrial output grew 1.1 percent, expanding at its slowest pace in more than a year, and below expectations of 1.4 percent.