Mexica's economy grows by 1.3 pct in Q1

MEXICO CITY, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican economy grew by 1.3 percent in the first quarter, its slowest quarterly rate of growth in over four years, the country's statistics bureau, INEGI, announced on Wednesday.

The final figure was revised slightly upward from the 1.2 percent INEGI reported in April as a preliminary number.

From January to March, industrial production dropped 0.8 percent year on year, the fourth straight quarter of industrial contraction.

According to INEGI, the services sector was the biggest contributor to GDP, rising by 2 percent, although this was also its slowest quarter in the last four years.

The agricultural sector, which makes up a smaller part of GDP, grew by 5.4 percent. The Mexican bank Ve Por Mas (BX+) said in a report that agriculture's strong performance had saved the economy from even weaker growth.

"We maintain our prediction of GDP growth for all of 2018 at a range of 2 to 2.5 percent," it said.

However, the bank admitted there were threats to its prognosis, including uncertainty about the renegotiation of NAFTA, Mexico's upcoming presidential election on July 1 and the impact of protectionist measures in the United States.

Mexico, the second-largest economy in Latin America after Brazil, grew by 2 percent in 2017, down from 2.9 percent in 2016.

The central bank predicted a growth of 2-3 percent for 2018. Enditem