Mexican central banker says ‘it is clear’ economy is slowing

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy is slowing, Bank of Mexico deputy governor Jonathan Heath said on Friday after official data showed economic activity shrank in November and December.

Economic activity in Latin America’s second-largest economy slipped 0.4% in December from November and contracted 0.1% in November from October in seasonally-adjusted terms, according to a preliminary estimate from national statistics agency INEGI.

“Assuming this is the case and that we don’t have revisions to previous months or quarters, GDP in the fourth quarter will have grown 0.4%, representing a slowdown throughout the year,” Heath said on Twitter.

“It is clear that we are facing a slowdown in economic activity,” Heath said.

The data from INEGI also showed that economic activity likely grew by 2.7% in the 12 months through December and by 4.1% in the 12 months through November.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Steven Grattan and Paul Simao)