Mexico recorded a trade surplus of US$371 million (mdd) in October 2024 , this result compares favorably with the deficit of US$369 million recorded in the same month of the previous year, according to the most recent data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) .

In this sense, the figure is even more significant when compared to the deficit of 579 million dollars recorded in September of the same year, which shows a substantial improvement in the country’s foreign trade in one month. 

The Inegi trade balance indicated that this recovery is mainly due to two factors: first, the increase in the surplus of the non-oil products balance , which went from 641 million dollars in September to 1,230 million dollars in October.

In addition, it is also due to a reduction in the deficit of the oil products balance , which went from 1,220 million dollars to 859 million dollars.

On the other hand, although the October surplus is encouraging, Mexico’s merchandise trade balance shows an accumulated deficit of US$10.646 billion during the first ten months of 2024, according to Inegi figures.

This result is slightly higher than the deficit of 10,295 million dollars recorded in the same period in 2023. 

Total merchandise exports amounted to US$57.671 billion in October, representing an increase of 11.2% compared to the same month last year. This figure was driven by significant growth in non-oil exports, which increased by 13.5%, reaching US$55.288 billion.

In particular, automotive exports , one of the key sectors of the Mexican economy, grew by 6.1%, with sales worth US$18.74 billion.

However, oil exports experienced a significant drop of 24.2%, amounting to just 2,383 million dollars in October.

The decline in international oil prices , which resulted in a drop of $13.92 in the average price of a barrel of Mexican crude oil, was one of the determining factors in this performance. 

Regarding imports , Mexico acquired merchandise worth US$57.3 billion in October 2024, representing an increase of 9.7% compared to the same month in 2023.

In this sense, this growth is broken down into a 12% increase in non-oil imports, which totaled 54,058 million dollars, while oil imports fell by 18.3 percent.

Imports of intermediate goods , which account for 75.7% of the total, grew by 11.6%, reflecting the need for inputs for industrial production. 

For the rest of the year, exports are expected to remain a key driver for the Mexican economy, although the international outlook could influence sales, particularly in the most vulnerable sectors such as the oil sector.

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