Mexican economy contracts record 17.3% in April

Mexico’s economy suffered a record contraction in April, official data showed on Friday, as the effects of coronavirus lockdown devastated economic activity across the country.

Adjusted for seasonal swings, Latin America’s second-biggest economy contracted by 17.3% from March, the biggest fall since modern data began being published in early 1993, according to figures put out by national statistics agency INEGI.

Still, the decline was not as sharp as the 19.4% drop forecast by a Reuters poll of economists.

In unadjusted terms, the economy shrank by 19.9% in April compared with a year earlier, the figures showed.