Customers wearing face masks shop at a wholesale food market amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 18, 2020. (Photo by Francisco Canedo/Xinhua)
In a report to its clients, the private institution upgraded its 2023 growth forecast for Mexico's economy to 0.8 percent from the 0.3 percent it had previously forecast.
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's economy is decelerating at a slower pace than anticipated, meaning an eventual recession, led by its biggest trade partner the United States, could take longer than expected, the Bank of America (BofA) said Monday.
In a report to its clients, the private institution upgraded its 2023 growth forecast for Mexico's economy to 0.8 percent from the 0.3 percent it had previously forecast.
However, the bank cut its 2024 growth forecast for Mexico to zero, from the previous 0.6 percent, saying it continued to expect the economy to slow in the coming months as the U.S. economy slows down.
According to the institution, the expected economic recession in Mexico and the United States could take a little longer but be deeper, especially if the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) continues to raise its interest rates.
The trend towards the relocation of companies could compensate and give a boost to the Mexican economy, which would also cushion the lower growth in the United States, it added.
The U.S. economy is also slowing down slower than anticipated, the bank said, adding its analysts recently pushed the expected recession back to the second half of 2023.
Mexico's economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil, grew 3.1 percent in 2022, driven mainly by industrial activity linked to the United States, according to revised figures from Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) published Friday. ■
