By Anthony Harrup
MEXICO CITY--Mexico registered a fourth consecutive monthly trade surplus in September as trade levels continued their recovery from shutdowns earlier in the year.
The $4.38 billion surplus brought the accumulated balance for the first nine months of the year to a surplus of $18.96 billion, the National Statistics Institute said Tuesday.
For the first time since February, exports were above the year-earlier month, rising 3.7% from September 2019 to $38.55 billion. Imports were down 8.5% at $34.16 billion, the smallest decline since March.
Shipments abroad of manufactured goods rose 4.3% in September, with double-digit increases in processed foods, plastic products and electronic goods, while petroleum exports fell 22% as a result of lower crude oil prices.
Petroleum imports were down 27%, and consumer goods imports excluding petroleum products were down 22%. Imports of intermediate goods used in production chains were 6.5% lower than a year before, and imports of equipment and machinery fell 8.4%.
Trade levels continued to recover from large declines in April and May when many industries were closed due to the coronvirus pandemic both in Mexico and its main trade partner, the U.S. Exports have been picking up faster than imports and are expected to be the main driver of a recovery in economic activity.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-27-20 0849ET
