Mexico's economy grows

Mexico City, May 2

 (IANS/EFE) 

Mexico's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1 percent in real terms in the first quarter of this year after expanding at a 3.2 percent rate in the final three months of 2012, the government said.

The economic growth numbers were included in reports on the economy, public finances and public debt submitted by the Finance and Public Credit Secretariat to Congress.

"The reduced dynamism that the Mexican economic expansion had during the first quarter is related, to a certain extent, to the slowdown registered in the US economy at the end of 2012, and the recent rebound will be reflected in the next few months," the secretariat said.

Mexico posted a budget surplus of 40.17 billion pesos ($3.31 billion) in the first quarter, an improvement from the deficit of 49.54 billion pesos ($4.08 billion) registered during the same period in 2012, the secretariat said.

The budget surplus, excluding state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, totaled 98.68 billion pesos ($8.13 billion) during the period, a "result that supports the goal of an annual balanced budget set by Congress", the Finance and Public Credit Secretariat said.

Budget revenues fell a slight 0.40 percent in the first quarter "due to a reduction in petroleum revenue, which was offset by higher non-petroleum tax revenues and other non-tax revenues of the federal government", the secretariat said.

Total government spending fell 10.4 percent in real terms in the first quarter, while spending on social programs rose 0.80 percent, the secretariat said.

The federal government's total net debt was the equivalent of 33.8 percent of GDP as of March 31, with 23.9 percent of the figure corresponding to domestic debt and 9.9 percent to foreign debt.

--IANS/EFE

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