• DROP: As the coronavirus pandemic settled in, Mexico saw in April a drop of 47.9% in the value of its exports to the US when compared to the same month last year, according to US Census Bureau data. This is the worst drop since at least 1986, the oldest year for which data is available online.
• PARALYSIS: Under a health emergency declaration that began on March 30th, large swaths of Mexico’s economy effectively shut down. Despite trade between Mexico and the US never being restricted, Mexican exports fell from US $30.3 billion in April 2019 to US $15.8 billion in April 2020.
• CHINA: “Ironically, imports (made by the US) from (China) increased remarkably … due to further progress in restarting operations at Chinese factories”, analysts at Monex Financial Group said on Thursday reminding of the earlier reopening of manufacturing in China.
• MAY: Mexico’s central bank (BANXICO) predicted that Mexico’s export sector will continue to see an adverse scenario in May given a weaker world economy and lower production due to the coronavirus lockdown. The bank is forecasting a drop in Mexico’s GDP of up to 8.8% in 2020.
