Current Account in Mexico

Records the balance of Mexico's current account within the balance of payments: the net result of trade in goods and services, primary income and transfers (with remittances a prominent item) with the rest of the world. It is published by the Bank of Mexico.

The Bank of Mexico compiles the current account under the IMF's sixth Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6), adding the goods and services balance, primary income and transfers. It is a quarterly figure reported in millions of US dollars.

A current account deficit shows that Mexico needs external financing to cover the gap between saving and investment; a surplus, the opposite. It is central to assessing the country's external vulnerability and the pressure on the peso, particularly if the deficit widens amid weaker capital inflows.

It is highly volatile from quarter to quarter owing to the seasonality of remittances, tourism and investment flows, so the trend over several quarters matters more than a single reading. It is also subject to revisions.