• QUARTER: Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.55% in the first quarter of 2020, recording its fifth quarterly fall in a row according to preliminary non-seasonally adjusted figures by Mexico’s statistics agency (INEGI). The new number is the deepest quarterly fall since 2009.
• EPIDEMIC: Amid the global coronavirus pandemic, Mexico only established major restrictions on the economic activity until the second half of March. However, analysts believe that the second quarter of the year will bring the most severe results, given the restrictions.
• SEVERE: “This suggests that the drop in activity in March, which was higher than we expected, will be followed by more severe contractions in April, and no visible recovery in May”, an analysis by JP Morgan indicates. “GDP is expected to remain below its pre-crisis path until the end of the year”.
• ANNUAL: On Thursday, JP Morgan updated its forecast for the Mexican economy, predicting a contraction of up to 8.4%. Most analysts agree that Mexico is about to face a worst economic downturn than that of the 2008 global financial crisis and the 1994 so-called Tequila Crisis.
