Mexico:
General:
Mexico's economy continues to be strong and has outperformed the US in the last four consecutive quarters. One million new jobs are expected to be created this year.
Together with South
Korea,
China, and
Turkey,
Mexico was awarded a bigger clout in the decision making process of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
GDP: + 5.1% annual rate in the first six months
Industrial
Production: + 3.9% in Q2 (compared with Q2 2005)
Unemployment: 3.95% in July (3.32% in June)
Government Budget: - 3.9 billion Pesos in July, bringing down the budget surplus to Pesos 79.1 million for the first seven months
Consumer Prices: + 3.32% in August (compared with August 2005)
Inflation rate: annual rate of 3.5% in August, up from 3.1% in July; the monthly core inflation rate (food – and energy prices are factored out) for August fell to 0.13%, down from 0.28% in July
Wages: went up an average 4.4% in first seven months
Consumer Confidence Index: rose to 11.3 in August from 109.7 in July
Trade Balance: - $4.1 billion in July (latest twelve months)
Current Account Balance: - $0.6 billion in Q2 (latest twelve months)
Crude Oil Exports: jumped to $18.4 billion in the first half 2006, compared with $12.6 billion a year ago
Vehicle Exports: rose to 886,152 units in first seven months 2006, up 48% from same time last year
Currency: Pesos 10.9 to US$1 as of September 6 (Pesos 10.7 to US$1 a year ago)
Steel
Production: 1,390K mt in July (estimated), 9,395K mt in the first seven months, which is 3.8% less than first seven months of 2005
Canada:
GDP: + 2.9% Q2 (compared with Q2 2005), but no perceptible growth in June. The economy grew 0.2% in April, 0.1% in May and 0.0% in June (always compared to the previous month)
Unemployment: 6.5% in August
Consumer Prices: + 2.4% July (compared with July 2005)
Producer Prices: + 4.3% July (- 0.3% a year ago)
Wages: + 0.3% May (+ 1.0% a year ago)
Industrial
Production: + 0.4% in June, industries operated at 85.7% of their capacity in Q2 compared with 85.7% in Q1
Trade Balance: + $60.2 billion in June (latest twelve months)
Current Account Balance: + $28.6 in Q2 (latest twelve months)
Currency: Canadian $1.11 to US$1 as of September 6 (CA$1.18 to US$1 a year ago)
Steel
Production: 290K mt for the week ending September 2, down from 298K mt a week earlier, and up 2.2% from same week last year