Mexico Registers $1.08 Billion Trade Deficit in May

Mexico had a $1.08 billion trade deficit in May, more than double the shortfall in the year-earlier month as the deficit in petroleum goods widened, the National Statistics Institute said Tuesday.

Exports last month rose 12.9% from a year earlier to $35.47 billion thanks to solid gains in shipments of factory-made goods, while imports increased 14.7% to $36.54 billion.

The May trade balance brought the deficit for the first five months of the year to $2.97 billion, with a $6.88 billion deficit in petroleum partly offset by a $3.91 billion surplus in nonpetroleum goods.

Average crude oil prices rose from May 2016, but export volume fell to 958,000 barrels a day from 1.2 million barrels a day. Imports of fuels such as gasoline, diesel and natural gas rose 23% from a year before.

Mexico exports crude oil, but imports more than half of the gasoline and natural gas that it consumes. State oil company Petróleos Mexicanos imported 494,000 barrels a day of gasoline in May, up from 461,000 the year before, and is expected to raise imports further after flooding and a fire this month forced it to shut down its biggest refinery until the end of July.

Exports of manufactured goods remained buoyant in May, rising 12.9% to $31.79 billion with strong gains in vehicles, auto parts, and nonautomotive sectors.

Consumer goods imports continued to recover along with the rebound in the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar. Excluding petroleum products, consumer imports rose 7% from May 2016, but were still down 0.9% for the first five months of the year.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2017 10:08 ET (14:08 GMT)