MEXICO CITY, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican economy grew 1.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported on Friday.
Between January and March, the service sector grew by 1.9 percent, the agricultural sector grew by 5.8 percent, while industrial activity linked to the United States fell by 0.7 percent year-on-year, Inegi said in a statement.
The gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2 percent in the same period in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2018, Inegi said.
In a separate report, the Scotiabank Financial Group, a member of Canada's Scotiabank, said the new data confirmed that a complicated environment has made an impact on economic activity as a whole.
It referred in particular to "lower investment flows associated with greater uncertainty, both external and internal, a possible lower foreign demand, greater caution on the part of consumers, and a less robust labor market."
In 2018, Mexico's GDP grew by 2 percent. The country's economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil, depends heavily on the economic cycles of the United States, its main business partner.
