MEXICO CITY, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Consumer spending and gross fixed investment in Mexico plummeted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) showed on Friday.
Consumer spending fell 11 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, while gross fixed investment plunged 18.2 percent last year, according to two separate Inegi reports.
In the area of consumer spending, demand for goods made in Mexico declined by 10.5 percent in 2020, while demand for imported items fell 15.1 percent, the autonomous agency said.
Gross fixed investment saw a 17.4 percent drop in capital destined for the construction sector in 2020, and a 19.3 percent decrease in capital for the purchase of machinery and equipment.
In a response to the figures, Banorte Financial Group said the economic indicators did not offer "significant clues" as to the continued performance of the moderate recovery trend in domestic demand.
"The challenging environment probably continued in the first quarter of 2021," especially as the pandemic worsened up to mid-February, according to the government, Banorte said.
"Therefore, we continue to see these components, particularly investment, as weak despite the expectation of a rebound in economic growth this year," it added. Enditem