| | |  Business News | November 2009 
Economy Expands in Mexico
 Anthony Harrup - WSJ
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| | Mexico's President Felipe Calderon arrives for a celebration commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution at the presidential residence Los Pinos in Mexico City November 20, 2009. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) | |
Mexico City - Mexico's economy, battered by the financial crisis, expanded for the first time in a year during the third quarter, growing 2.93% from the second quarter, official data showed Friday.
The expansion followed three consecutive quarters of contraction. In Mexico, the slump put more than a million people out of work at a time when drug-related violence has soared amid a crackdown on drug gangs.
"With this result, the Mexican economy has left behind the worst recession in the last seven decades," Alfredo Coutiño, director for Latin America at Moody's Economy.com, wrote to clients.
Mexico's 2.93% expansion translates into an annualized growth rate of roughly 12%.
Compared with the third quarter of last year, Mexico's economic output was down 6.2%, according to the National Statistics Institute. That shows the effects of the slowdown in the U.S. economy, where Mexico sends more than 90% of its exports.
Mexico also has been hurt by lower oil prices and oil production, fewer remittances from workers abroad and a decline in tourism. The outbreak of swine flu in March hurt restaurants and other businesses.
The U.S. cash-for-clunkers program fueled demand for cars and helped Mexico's export-oriented auto industry in the third quarter, when several plants lifted technical work stoppages.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup(at)dowjones.com
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