Mexico posted a trade deficit of $2732 million in August of 2017 compared with a $1884 million shortfall in the same month of the previous year.
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Exports rose 10.3% from a year ago to $35.8 billion and imports advanced at a faster 12.2% to $38.5 billion, the highest value on record.
Considering the January to August period, the trade deficit shrank 33.4% to $7.16 billion, as exports rose 10.1% and imports soared 8.2%.
Year-on-year, exports rose 10.3% to $35.78 billion in August of 2017, marking the tenth consecutive month of annual gain.
Non-oil sales, which account for around 95% of total exports, increased 10.6% and exports of oil went up 4.1%.
Within non-oil exports, sales of manufactured goods rose 10.7%, driven by exports of food, beverages and tobacco (20.7%); automotive products (15.6%); electronic goods and appliances (12.9%); professional and scientific equipment (11.4%) and special machinery and equipment for industries (9.1%).
Also, sales advanced for agricultural and fisheries (4.1%), namely those of raw coffee beans (90.6%); fruits and edible fruits (51.9%); citrus (37%); mango (23.5%) and fresh vegetables (18.1%). Meantime, shipments of mining products jumped 19.2%, compared to a 14.5% rise in July.
Exports to the United States surged 9.3%, accounting for around 82% of total non-oil shipments. Auto sales to the U.S. increased 10.5% and exports of other products advanced 8.6%.
Sales to the rest of the world rose 16.9%, with autos jumping 44.9% and other products climbing 7%.
Imports advanced 12.2% to $38.51 billion, the highest value on record, driven by higher purchases of intermediate goods (12.9%), consumption goods (12%) and capital goods (7.2%).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports went up 1.96% to $34.23 billion, led by an increase of 2.43% in non-oil shipments while oil sales fell 6.39%.
Imports grew at a faster 3.35% to $35.52 billion, with advances in both oil purchases (15.58%) and non-oil imports (2.13%), thus widening the trade deficit to $1283 million from $789 million in the previous period. ■