Mexico’s economy grew by 0.6 percent in January from December in seasonally adjusted terms, the fastest pace in five months, figures from the national statistics agency showed on Tuesday.
Growth was driven by a pickup in industrial activity, which advanced by 1.2 percent from the previous month, while the service sector expanded by 0.2 percent, the figures showed.
Compared with the same month a year earlier, Latin America’s second biggest economy grew by 2.3 percent, in unadjusted terms. That was a tenth of a point faster than the same month in 2015.
The statistics office also revised upward December’s data to show the economy grew by 0.1 percent compared with the previous month. It first reported that the economy was flat that month.
Mexico exports mostly manufactured goods to the United States, its top trading partner. Last year, weakness in U.S. industrial output weighed on Mexican growth, which slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter.
In recent months, private consumption has helped support growth in the Mexican economy.
(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
