GM General Motors Company

By Anthony Harrup

MEXICO CITY--Mexican industrial production picked up in August, rising from the previous month as gains in construction and oil and gas production were partly offset by a decline in factory output.

Industrial production increased 0.8% from July in seasonally adjusted terms, the National Statistics Institute said Friday. Mining output rose 5.2%, including a 4% increase in oil and gas production, and construction activity rose 2.3%. Manufacturing production was down 0.4%.

Within manufacturing, declines in vehicles and auto parts, electronic equipment and processed foods were partly offset by higher production of metals, metal products and machinery.

The overall industrial performance was better than analysts had expected, although several remained cautious about the months ahead.

"With the key manufacturing sector facing a slowdown, we expect that conditions for industry as a whole will remain weak later this year," Capital Economics said in a note. The research firm noted weakness in manufacturing surveys, and the impact that the General Motors Co. (GM) strike in the U.S. is having on its Mexican plants.

Mexico's production of cars and light trucks had fallen 9.6% in August from a year earlier, and in September was down 0.4% from a year before in its fifth consecutive month of declines.

Overall industrial production was down 1.3% from August of 2018, and off 1.7% in the first eight months of the year.

"Tight financial conditions, lingering policy uncertainty, soft business confidence, and slowing external demand will likely continue to generate headwinds to both the construction and manufacturing sectors in 2019," Goldman Sachs said in a note.

Industrial output contracted for three consecutive quarters through the second quarter of this year, and has been a drag on the overall economy. Gross domestic product contracted in the first quarter of the year and was flat in the second.

Preliminary third-quarter GDP numbers are due to be published Oct. 30.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthny.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 11, 2019 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

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