Mexico recorded a slight trade surplus in May amid strong manufacturing exports and higher volume of crude-oil sales overseas, according to the National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, report released Friday.
Last month, Mexico’s trade surplus was $131.8mn amid economists’ forecast of a surplus of $250mn. The result in May compared with a $460mn trade deficit in the year-earlier month, Inegi said.
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Exports in May climbed 4.7 percent from $34.38bn in the same month last year, driven by the 4.7 percent rise in manufactured goods on the strength of the vibrant automobile sector.
Petroleum exports were higher by 3.6 percent, with crude-oil volume rising moderately from the previous year at a daily rate of 1.116 million barrels at a $96.92 per barrel average price, which was lower by $1.75 per barrel from May last year, Inegi said.
May’s imports jumped 2.8 percent compared with the year-earlier month at $34.25bn, driven by intermediate goods that are typically used for manufacturing. Petroleum imports such as gasoline dropped by 4.6 percent with May 2013, and consumer goods slipped by 2.7 percent, according to the statistics agency.
