Mexico’s economic outlook dims

mexico city — Mexico’s economy grew less than first estimated in the fourth quarter as activity contracted in December, the first month of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s administration, data showed on Monday, clouding the outlook for 2019.

Figures from the national statistics agency showed that Latin America’s second-biggest economy grew 0.2 per cent in the OctoberDecember period from the previous quarter in seasonally adjusted terms. That was one tenth of a percentage point less than a preliminary figure published on Jan. 30.

A separate report by the agency showed Mexico’s economy shrank by 0.4 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in December in comparison to the previous month. Activity slipped across all main sectors of the economy, the figures showed. The data follow warnings from bosses that recent strikes and blockades threaten growth under Lopez Obrador, a leftist whose business credentials have long been questioned by critics nervous about his ability to run the economy.

Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs on Monday cut its 2019 Mexican growth forecast to 1.5 percent from a prior estimate of 1.7 percent, the latest private sector institution to take a dimmer view of the outlook. Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos said “market apprehension” about Lopez Obrador’s policies could crimp activity and make businesses more cautious.