| | |  Business News | July 2008 
Mexico Sees "Relatively Good" Economic Growth in Q2
 Jason Lange & Luis Rojas Mena - Reuters
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| | Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens | | |
Queretaro, Mexico - Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said on Friday positive data for retail sales and employment meant economic growth would be "relatively good" in the second quarter of this year.
Carstens was speaking to reporters at a financial conference in the city of Queretaro in central Mexico.
Economists expect a U.S. slowdown to cool Mexican growth this year, though the economy is expected to perform better than in previous U.S. downturns.
The government expects Mexico's economy to grow 2.8 percent this year, down from 3.2 percent in 2007.
"Up to now, the performance of the economy has been reasonable, considering the conditions abroad," Carstens said.
He said employment figures from June and data on retail sales from Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX), the nation's top retailer, were "a good sign."
Mexico's Social Security Institute reported this week that the number of jobs registered with the government increased by 51,566 in June - exceeding the gain of 46,682 jobs in the same month last year.
Walmex reported on Wednesday an 8.6 percent rise in second-quarter profit and a 12 percent increase in total revenue.
"So we are relatively optimistic," Carstens said.
Carstens said the economy also got a boost during the April-June period from the agricultural sector, which he said performed better than during the first quarter, when it shrank.
The economy grew 2.6 percent during the first quarter, though the government said the reading was 3.7 percent when discounting the effect of a week-long holiday that fell earlier than in 2007.
Mexico's government initially reported the economy expanded 3.3 percent in 2007, but later revised the figure to 3.2 percent after changing its statistical methodology this year.
(Editing by Jan Paschal) |
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