Mexico economy still strong

Apr. 1 - Mexico has yet to suffer a significant slowdown due to the U.S. economic downturn, but growth in the first quarter was relatively low compared with a year ago, Central Bank Gov. Guillermo Ortiz said on March 31, 2008.

Mexican investment and industrial production remain healthy despite economic troubles in the United States, said Ortiz, speaking at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Mexico City. (Sound in Spanish)

Speaker:
Guillermo Ortiz
Central Bank Governor, Mexico

English Translation:

Oritz saying:
"In fact, it is being estimated that in this first quarter, the contribution of net exportations to growth will be around 1 percent in the U.S. and this forecasts a better reaction of the Mexican economy faced with this situation. In fact during the first months of the year, so far this year, we haven't really felt an important slowdown in Mexican economic indicators, both the figures of consumption as well as investment in industrial production of exterior commerce, they indicate a first semester with a relatively strong activity."
"In this context, Mexico has faired less worse than other countries, but truly as we predicted last October, when we saw inflation previsions, we could already see that there were different pressures in piping, stemming from food costs, stemming also from the possible impact on the fiscal reform, the JETU, which has some impact. However, having said this, the expectation for the medium term are well-anchored. We are not comfortable with that level of inflation but it is something that we expected and it explains why the inflation in food and partly the repercussion in energy."
"All the central banks in the world, even those in charge of supervising inflation, all the central banks that I know, have in mind the topic of growth. We see this, us central bankers, as a long term topic. In the long term the best contribution that the central bank can do is to supply a platform of expectations that will lead to real, low interest levels."