More good news for the Mexican economy, but a grave warning too from a man who knows.

The indicator of economic activity for October issued on Thursday by the national statistics institute rose 4.3 per cent year on year, up by more than half a percentage point than most analysts had forecast.

It also increased by the previous month, though by an increase of 0.2 per cent.

The strength of the index adds weight to the government’s estimate that the economy will have grown by 3.9 per cent last year. Growth of this year has been pencilled in at 3.5 per cent by officials.

Meanwhile, the Mexican auto industry has provided more good news. Production last year came to 2.88m units, a 13 per cent increase on 2011, while exports grew by just under 10 per cent.

Production of cars hit the highest December figure on record, but exports and domestic sales dropped. The industry association said that a shortage of credit might have affected domestic sales, while import quotas negotiated with Brazil might have hit exports.

In all, the government of President Enrique Peña Nieto that took power on December 1, has so far been surfing on a wave of optimism.

via Mexican economy: all pumped up | beyondbrics.