Mexico:
GDP: 3.3% in Q3, slightly under previous estimates. Declining exports to a weaker US market have had an adverse effect on Mexican growth. Gross fixed investments - a gauge of spending on machinery, equipment and construction - rose 2.7% in September, which is also lower than expected.
Consumer Prices: +3.9% in November, which is still in the 2.0% to 4.0% range of the Central Bank. The benchmark interest rate was left unchanged at 7.5% at the Central Bank's December meeting.
Industrial Production: +0.4% in September
Unemployment: 3.9% in October
Trade Balance: -$12.1 billion at the end of October for the past twelve months
Crude Oil Exploration: It is expected that this year Mexico will have extracted an average of 3.1 billion barrels per day (bpd). Government estimates show a decline to 2.1 billion bpd in the next decade unless the state-owned oil company, Pemex, ramps up production of newly discovered oil fields. The government is considering allowing a higher level of foreign investments in the oil industry to avoid a downturn. The high-water mark of crude oil production came in 2004 with 2.4 billion bpd.
Automotive Industry: 178,721 units were produced in November, or 10.4% less than last year. In the first eleven months of the year 1,945,373 units were produced, or 2.4% more than last year. As of October, automobile exports were 9.4% higher than last year.
Steel Production: 1.5 million mt in October, or 3.7% ahead of last year. In the first eleven months of the year 14.4 million mt were produced, or 4.5% more than last year.
Currency: Peso 10.8 to US$1 on December 12 (unchanged from last year)
GDP: +2.9% in Q3
Consumer Prices: +2.4% in October
Industrial Production: +1.4% in September; industries operated at 82.7% capacity, down from 83.5% in Q2 and 83.9% in Q3 2006. The most recent high was Q4 2000 with a capacity utilization of 87.1%.
Unemployment: 5.9% in October
Trade Balance: +$49.0 billion at the end of October for the last twelve months
Automotive Industry: 249,501 units were produced in November, or 9.5% more than last year. In the first eleven months of the year 2,443,411 units were produced, an increase of 2.4% over last year.
Steel Production: 1.4 million mt were produced in October, or 7.5% more than last year. In the first eleven months of the year, 13.6 million mt were produced, or 4.5% more than last year
Currency: C$1.01 to US$1 as of December 12 (1.16 a year ago)