schema:articleBody
| - Mexico recorded a trade deficit of more than $3 billion in April as both imports and exports plummeted over the coronavirus lockdown, the state statistics institute said on Monday. Compared to April 2019, exports fell by more than 40 percent to $23.4 billion with imports down 30 percent to $26.5 billion, the INEGI institute said. Mexico declared a health emergency at the end of March that suspended most commercial activity, except those deemed essential such as food production and healthcare services. Exports of manufactured goods, which normally make up 96 percent of the total, fell by 39 percent while oil exports plunged 66 percent. Imports other than oil, which account for 92 percent of the total, fell by almost 28 percent. Oil-related imports were down 53 percent. Experts say the Mexican economy will suffer its worst contraction in decades due to the coronavirus pandemic. Central bank analysts expect a GDP decline of 7.1 percent in 2020, compared to a drop of 0.1 percent in 2019. Mexico has recorded the second most deaths from COVID-19 in Latin America, after Brazil. It has more than 68,000 confirmed cases and nearly 7,400 deaths. jla/mls/bc
|