General: The economy is still growing very slowly. Industrial production was barely up in June. In July, a big improvement was registered in the automotive industry. It was only the second month this year that vehicle production exceeded last year's numbers. The Bank of Mexico left the overnight lending rate unchanged at 7.25% despite an uncomfortable up-tick in July's inflation number. On the brighter side, foreign direct investment in the first half of this year increased by more than 40% to $13.25 billion.
GDP: +2.8% in Q2; the finance ministry estimates a growth of 3.3% for the year.
Consumer Prices: + 4.1% in July
Industrial Production: + 0.1% in June
Unemployment: 3.3% in June
Trade Balance: - $11.8 billion as of July for the last twelve months
Currency: Peso 11.10 to US$1 as of August 22 (Peso 10.8 to US$1 a year ago)
Automotive Production: 156,479 units were built in July or 26.2% ahead of last year. In the first seven months of the year, 1,162,112 units were built, a slight 0.9% down from last year.
Steel Production: 1.35 (e) million mt were produced in July, down from 1.41 million mt in June, but 6.3% ahead of last year. In the first seven months of the year, 9.886 million mt were produced, or 6.6% more than last year.
GDP: + 2.0% in Q1; in May the economy grew + 0.3%, driven largely by strong retail sales. Mining and petroleum outputs decreased for the third month in a row.
Consumer Prices: + 2.2% in July, unchanged from the previous three months
Industrial Production: - 0.1% in May
Unemployment: 6.0% in July
Trade Balance: + $50.0 billion in June for the last twelve months
Currency: C$1.06 to US$1 as of August 22 (C$1.11 to US$1a year ago)
Automotive Production: 147,365 units were produced in July, or 16.7% ahead of last year's pace. In the first seven months of the year, 1,515,138 units were assembled - statistically even compared to last year.
Steel Production: 1.42 million mt (e) were produced in July, or 5.3% more than last year. In the first seven months of the year, 9.5 million mt were produced or 1.6% ahead of last year.