An employee works at an NPD Technology factory that assembles printed circuit boards (PCBs) for export to the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

(Reuters) -Mexico's economy contracted 0.3% in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, a preliminary estimate from national statistics agency INEGI showed on Thursday, in line with forecasts from economists polled by Reuters.

Latin America's second-largest economy was impacted mainly by a slowdown in industrial activity in the period, which broke two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Secondary or manufacturing activities were down 1.5% on a sequential basis, the data showed, offsetting growth of 3.2% in the economy's primary sector, which includes farming, fishing and mining. Services expanded 0.1%.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, the Mexican economy slipped 0.2% in the third quarter, also matching market estimates.

That was the first year-on-year quarterly GDP contraction since early 2021, when global economic activity was still reeling from the pandemic.

(Reporting by Ricardo Figueroa and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Alison Williams and Bernadette Baum)