In March 2013, mining and metallurgical production in Mexico recorded a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to March 2012, and a 4 percent drop in the first quarter of the year, reported the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
The report noted that the quarterly decline is the result of production decreases of 7.5 percent in January, 2.1 percent in February and 2.5 percent in March this year, after the third month of 2012 increased 5.9 percent.
In seasonally adjusted terms, production in the country also decreased 2.14 percent in the third month of the year compared with the previous month.
The agency notes that the quarterly decline was due to lower production of gypsum, sulfur, gold, zinc, lead, coal, copper, coke, fluorspar and silver, while only iron pellets showed an improvement.
In March alone, the 2.5 percent drop in production was a result of reduced production of gypsum, sulfur, coal, copper, fluorspar, gold and coke. In turn, the materials with increases in production in the third month of the year were zinc, iron pellets, lead and silver.