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Mexico economy dips in second quarter, peso weakens

FILE PHOTO: Bundles of Mexican Peso banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange shop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s economy shrank slightly in the second quarter from the previous three-month period, as manufacturing and farming contracted, according to preliminary data released on Tuesday that pushed the peso lower.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the economy shrank 0.1 percent in the quarter, according to an estimate published by the national statistics agency.

The economy grew by 2.7 percent from a year earlier in unadjusted terms, the agency said.

The Mexican peso MXN=D2 was 0.4 percent weaker at 18.62 pesos to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday morning.

A breakdown of the seasonally adjusted data showed the industrial sector shrank 0.3 percent in the second quarter from the January-March period, while agriculture and other primary activities fell 2.1 percent. Services expanded by 0.3 percent.

Final data for the second quarter will be published on Aug. 24, the agency said.

Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Christine Murray; Editing by David Gregorio and Steve Orlofsky

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