Photo: Tecnológico de Monterrey

XINHUA

Mexico’s economy faces an environment of uncertainty and risks, mainly due to the possibility of a second wave of novel coronavirus (covid-19) outbreaks, the governing board of the central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) said on Thursday, Nov. 26.

In the recently released minutes of a Nov. 12 monetary policy meeting, the majority of the board’s five members said they expected economic recovery to be gradual and prolonged.

However, data suggests that after a strong contraction in economic growth in the second quarter of the year due to the pandemic, economic activity showed signs of recovery in the third quarter, the members said.

“Everyone noted that external demand has shown greater dynamism,” said the minutes text, with exports bouncing back to near pre-pandemic levels.

“On the supply side, the majority highlighted the heterogeneity in the recovery of the different sectors.”

One member of the board noted tourism faces “the toughest situation,” with industry leaders not expecting the sector to recover until 2022.

On Wednesday, Nov. 25, Banxico published its latest growth forecast for Mexico, projecting an 8.9 percent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, followed by a 3.3 percent expansion in 2021.

Also on Thursday, Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported the economy plunged by an accumulated 9.6 percent in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year.

Nov. 27, 2020