By Anthony Harrup
MEXICO CITY--Mexico had a $6.22 billion surplus in goods trade in October, its largest on record, as exports continued to recover from industry shutdowns earlier in the year.
Exports increased 2.9% from the year-earlier month to $41.94 billion, while imports fell 13.8% to $35.72 billion, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.
The result brought the trade balance for the first 10 months of the year to a surplus of $25.18 billion, with a $36.91 billion surplus in nonpetroleum goods partially offset by an $11.73 billion deficit in petroleum.
Petroleum exports fell 30.2% in October to $1.28 billion on lower crude export volume and prices, while imports of fuels and natural gas fell 33.4% to $2.71 billion.
Exports of manufactured goods rose 3.5%, led by higher shipments of vehicles and auto parts, while other factory-made exports slipped 1.1% from October 2019.
Excluding petroleum, imports of consumer goods fell 31%, goods used in production process fell 7.8%, and machinery and equipment imports were down 18.3% from the year-earlier month.
Overall trade levels for the January-October period remained below 2019 levels, with exports off 12.6% and imports down 18.8%.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-27-20 0755ET
