Mexico: Merchandise exports drop in September
Merchandise exports fell 5.1% annually in September, contrasting August’s 3.8% rise. September’s outturn marked the largest fall since August 2020, and could have been partly due to border restrictions imposed by the U.S. state of Texas in late September. Looking at subsectors, September’s reading was driven by lower exports of non-automotive manufactured exports, with exports of cars and oil continuing to rise. That said, exports are still up year-to-date in annual terms, buoyed by the normalization of supply chains for car manufacturers and resilient U.S. demand. Meanwhile, merchandise imports contracted 3.9% on an annual basis in September (August: -4.3% yoy).
As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 1.5 billion deficit in September (August 2023: USD 1.4 billion deficit; September 2022: USD 0.9 billion deficit). Lastly, the trend deteriorated, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 11.3 billion deficit in September, compared to the USD 10.7 billion deficit in August.