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From an economic-policy perspective, it couldn't get much better for Mexico: on Monday, Latin America's second-largest economy reported that industrial production in January increased 1.4 per cent on the previous month "“ the biggest monthly rise in more than a year.
The latest figure brings industrial-production growth over the last 12 months to 6.6 per cent. More important, it confirms that Mexico is in a particularly sweet spot at the moment. Not only is it recovering quickly from the disaster of 2009: it is doing it with low inflation.
According to the country's central bank, February inflation was just 0.4 per cent, bringing inflation over the last 12 months to just 3.6 per cent "“ lower even than the 12-month figure in January of 3.8 per cent.
What is really encouraging about the latest data is that it shows a clear acceleration in domestic demand. Inegi, the government statistics agency that published the data, said that the construction industry grew 8.3 per cent in January compared with the same month a year ago.
Much of that growth was the result of greater residential home building, as well as the construction of factories, warehouses, offices and shops.
That domestic-demand component is something that had been lacking in Mexico's recent economic recovery, with most of the growth coming from a sharp rise in demand for Mexican products from abroad.
Now that there is increasing evidence of a wider recovery, policymakers can at last start to talk with greater confidence about the possibility of a sustained period of relatively strong economic growth.
Related reading: Mexico: keep on trucking, beyondbrics Mexico: hitting the bullseye?, beyondbrics Mexico: growing signs of recovery, beyondbrics Mexico: growth up, inflation down, beyondbrics
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