Mexico: Growth outlook slashed to 1.5% - Reuters

Mexico's economy cooled in the fourth quarter, reported via Reuters, as services growth lost momentum and industrial output was flat, preliminary data showed on Tuesday. The country's gross domestic product grew at a rate of about 0.6 percent, slowing from 1.0 percent in the third quarter, according to seasonally adjusted data from national statistics agency INEGI. 

Key Highlights:

•Compared with the fourth quarter of 2015, GDP expanded at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, the preliminary data showed, which would mean the economy grew nearly 2.3 percent in 2016, Reuters calculated.

•That is above 2.1 percent growth projected in a Banamex poll on Jan. 20 and below the 2.6 percent rate of 2015.

•The data showed Mexico's agricultural sector grew 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter from the third. Services expanded 0.7 percent, down sharply from a revised 1.4 percent quarterly rate in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the US Dollar continued lower at -0.89% on the day, with the USD/MXN exotic recovering at +0.36% on the day or 752-pips from today's low at 20.66.