Mexico's Walmex Feb same-store sales seen up 6 pct

MONTERREY, Mexico, March 5 (Reuters) - Leading Mexican retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico is expected to post a 6 percent rise in February same-store sales, a Reuters poll of five analysts showed on Wednesday.

Deducting inflation, same-store sales -- or those recorded at outlets that have been open for at least 12 months -- rose between 2 percent and 2.5 percent, below the 5.7 percent in February of 2007, the survey added.

An additional day in February, compared with the same month of 2007, will help lift results, analysts said.

"However we do not see any significant change in trend, as macro conditions have not shown any substantial improvements signaling a steady recovery," Credit Suisse said in a report.

"We believe that underlying consumer spending is still weak, expecting no improvement in coming months, but same-store sales should look strong through the first quarter helped by further calendar effects," it added.

Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), a unit of giant U.S.-based retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), is due to report monthly sales on Friday.

A U.S. economic slowdown is expected to hurt Mexico's growth this year. Mexico sends 80 percent of its exports to the United States. A slump in the U.S. construction sector, which employs many Mexican migrants, has also reduced the amount of money that they send back home.

This year, Mexico's gross domestic product is expected to rise 2.8 percent, compared to 3.3 percent last year.

Wal-Mart de Mexico's shares slipped 1.57 percent to 40.21 pesos on Wednesday. (Reporting by Gabriela Lopez; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)