Mexico chalked up a $1.29 billion trade surplus iin February with imports and exports up sharply from the year-earlier month. Exports rose 27.8% from February 2021 to $46.25 billion, while imports grew 34.2% to $44.95 billion, the National Statistics Institute said Monday. Exports of manufactured goods, which accounted for about 88% of the total, were up 27.7% at $40.64 billion, including a 31.8% rise in shipments of vehicles and auto parts. Petroleum exports increased 53.5% to $2.79 billion on higher crude-oil prices, while petroleum imports, including gasoline, diesel and natural gas, rose 47.6% to $4.32 billion. The $1.53 billion deficit in petroleum trade was offset by a $2.82 billion surplus in nonpetroleum goods.
Imports of intermediate goods used in production processes rose 35.8% from February 2021 to $36.3 billion, and consumer goods imports excluding petroleum were up 32.7% at $4.07 billlion. The February surplus followed a large $6.29 billion deficit in January and brought the trade balance for the first two months of the year to a deficit of $4.99 billion.