| | |  Business News | May 2009 
Series of Data to Shed Light on Mexican Economy
 Walter Brandimarte - Reuters
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New York - A number of Mexican economic indicators this week will allow investors to better gauge the impact of the global crisis on Latin America's second-largest economy.
In contrast, the data schedule for other countries in the region will be light.
Starting on Monday, Mexico's is expected to report that March industrial production declined 8.41 percent year-on-year, according to a Reuters survey.
The country's gross domestic product numbers, to be released on Wednesday, are expected to show the economy shrinking 7.61 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago.
March retail sales data follows on Thursday, with an expected decline of 5.93 percent, while Mexico's consumer price index for the first half of May is expected to fall 0.3 percent.
"A string of sluggish economic data should reinforce expectations of a potentially deeper rate-cut cycle," RBC Capital Markets said in a research note.
"However, Mexican assets are likely to trade more off U.S. economic data in the near term, as an improvement in the latter is a prerequisite for any rebound in Mexico's growth prospects," the firm added.
The following are some key data points investors will be watching this week:
Monday, May 18
• Chile - first-quarter GDP: analysts expect Chile's gross domestic product to contract about 2.1 percent in the first quarter, after growing 0.2 percent in the previous period.
Thursday, May 21
• Brazil - April unemployment: the rate of unemployment in Brazil is expected to rise to at least 9.4 percent in April after reaching 9.0 percent in March.
Friday, May 22
• Brazil - May IPCA-15: mid-month consumer inflation in Brazil is expected to accelerate slightly from the previous month's 0.36 percent, affected by an increase in healthcare costs.
"Ongoing rise in administered prices should lead to a higher headline reading. However, core inflation should remain contained," Barclays Capital said in a research note.
For a real-time schedule of upcoming economic indicators in Latin America, see ECONLATAM.
(Editing by Leslie Adler) |
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