Mexico current account deficit nearly doubles in first quarter

Mexico's current account deficit reached US$9.44 billion in the first quarter, the central bank said on Monday, nearly doubling from the fourth quarter of last year.

Mexico's current account deficit in the fourth quarter of 2014 reached US$5.083 billion.

The accumulated current account deficit for the quarter was the equivalent of 3.2 percent of gross domestic product, the central bank said.

In a separate report, Mexico announced that its factory-made exports rose in April for a second month in a row, signaling that stronger U.S. demand could support more robust growth in Latin America's No. 2 economy.

Manufactured exports rose 2.23 percent in April compared with March in seasonally-adjusted terms, the national statistics institute said on Monday. Auto exports rose 2.76 percent, while non-auto exports climbed 1.95 percent.

Mexico exports mostly manufactured exports, such as televisions and cars, versus reliance on raw materials like iron and soy beans elsewhere in the region. Nearly 80 percent of exports head to the United States.

The data showed non-oil consumer imports rose in April by 0.95 percent from March, marking their fastest pace of expansion since October 2014, pointing to stronger consumer demand after two months of contractions.

A sharp slump in the peso to a record low in March has made imports more costly.

Mexico's economy grew at its slowest pace in over a year, data showed last week, undermined by flagging oil revenue and weak U.S. growth.

The economy is expected to grow around 2.7 percent this year, up from a 2.1 percent expansion in 2014.

Mexico posted a US$1.22 billion trade deficit in April when adjusted for seasonal swings, the data showed. In non-seasonally adjusted terms, Mexico posted a trade deficit of US$85 million.