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 Business News | April 2006 
Mexico Lifts Growth Forecast as Industry Surges
 Reuters
Mexico City – Mexico's central bank this week said the economy surged about 5.2 percent in the first quarter after a strong showing in industrial output, and bumped up its 2006 growth forecast.
The central bank said it now expects Latin America's second largest economy to grow between 3.5 percent and 4 percent this year because of rapid growth in sectors like the auto industry.
It had previously said gross domestic product, or GDP, would grow between 3.2 percent and 3.7 percent in 2006 but unexpected strength in factory output and healthy consumer demand prompted the revision.
“Given the evolution of aggregate demand and in industrial production sectors, GDP could rise this year in a range of between 3.5 percent and 4 percent,” Manuel Ramos, the central bank's chief economist, told a news conference.
First-quarter economic growth was a solid increase from the 2.4 percent during the first quarter a year ago and the 2.7 percent growth in the last three months of 2005.
In March, Mexico's auto production soared a massive 67.4 percent from the same month last year.
Ramos said first-quarter growth had been aided by more working days in the quarter. “Perhaps the most important number at this moment is that for the first quarter and the Banco de Mexico expects 5.2 percent growth,” Ramos said. |
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