Economy faces another setback

MEXICO CITY (El Universal).— The country’s economic activity started the year on the wrong foot, contrary to what was initially projected, it registered a decline in January, marking four months of decline, data published by Inegi reveal.

The Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE) reported a decrease of 0.6% in the first month of 2024 compared to the immediately previous period, against a minimum growth of 0.03 predicted by the statistics institute.

The decline in January was due to the contraction of the services sector, which reported a monthly drop of 0.5%, a rate that contrasts with the minimum -0.03% estimated at the beginning.

By activities, 7 of the 14 that make up the services reported falls, among which business support and waste management services stand out with a monthly decrease of 14.4%; those related to cultural, sports and other recreation, -5.7%; and accommodation and food and beverage preparation services, -3.7%.

In contrast, the industry reported monthly growth of 0.4% in January. The data was driven by construction, which reported a monthly increase of 2.2% after two periods of decline, while the manufacturing industry recorded an increase of 0.2%, breaking a three-month negative streak.

For its part, the primary sector related to agricultural production reported a drop of 12.9%, after the 6.8% growth reported a month earlier. In this way, at an annual rate and with seasonally adjusted figures, the IGAE grew 1.1% in real terms in January.

By large groups of activities, the primaries fell 7.3%; while industrials grew 1.9% and services, 1.1%.