The economy of Mexico positively surprised in the third quarter of the year by surpassing growth expectations, recording a 1.5% annual increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between July and September. These data were published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) on October 30, accelerating from the 1% annual rate observed in the second quarter. Despite this improvement, growth remains below the 1.8% annual rate recorded earlier in the year.
Analyzing by sectors, there was a 1.9% annual growth in tertiary activities during the third quarter, compared to the 1.5% annual rate of the previous period. Secondary activities showed a 0.5% annual advance, slightly above the 0.4% previous, while the primary sector recorded a 3.8% annual growth, thus reversing five consecutive quarters of contractions.
Despite this rebound, projections for the Mexican economy in the coming years remain moderate, with growth estimates of 1.5% for 2024 and 1.0% for 2025. From January to September, there has been an annual growth of 1.4%, led by the services sector with a 1.9% expansion, followed by industry with a 0.8% increase and a slight contraction of 0.2% in the primary sector.
The director of economic analysis at Banco Base, Gabriela Siller, highlighted that Mexico's GDP growth has exceeded estimates in the third quarter, projecting a growth of 1.4% for the entire year 2024. Compared to the previous quarter, there is a significant acceleration, with the most marked growth in primary activities at 4.6%.
Despite these encouraging data, it is noted that economic growth in Mexico remains low, as GDP is growing less than half of what it grew in 2023, which poses challenges for achieving sustained expansion in the coming years.
