Mexico’s economy may have shrunk by 17% in April; finance minister says

Mexico’s economy is likely to have shrunk by 17% in April, finance minister Arturo Herrera told local broadcaster W Radio on Thursday. However, he reassured that the economy could shrink “a little less” in May as lockdown measures ease.

The second-largest economy in Latin America shrank by 1.2% from January to March, according to the latest official data. The three-month decline is seen as Mexico’s fourth consecutive quarterly plunge in Gross Domestic Product and is its weakest performance in over a decade.

Herrera said that the government had launched a gradual re-launching of its economy at the start of June, with priority given to officially-designated “essential” industries. Operations for car manufacturing, mining, and construction industries have been allowed to restart provided that it follows safety protocols.

However, Mexican central bank Banco de México has estimated that the economy could shrink by 8.8% in 2020. Meanwhile, private sector analysts forecast a gloomier 10% contraction in the economy for the year.