mexicos central bank on wednesday upgraded its economic growth forecast for latin americas secondlargest economy this year after a better than expected start to 2023 gross domestic product gdp is now projected to grow by 23 percent this year compared with a previous forecast of 16 percent the bank of mexico said gdp grew by 37 percent in the first quarter of 2023 from a year earlier according to an official estimate which the bank of mexico said reflected the economys resilience the outlook for next year however has worsened slightly with gdp now expected to increase by 16 percent down from a previous projection of 18 percent it said the downgrade for 2024 was due to weaker prospects for industrial production in the united states a key trading partner the central bank said in a quarterly report the bank of mexico left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record high of 1125 percent in may after 15 consecutive increases pausing in response to cooling inflation the central bank reiterated that its governing board considers that it will be necessary to maintain the reference rate at its current level for an extended period to bring inflation back down to its three percent target after reaching twodecade highs above eight percent last year annual inflation in mexico eased to around 62 percent in april the lowest since october 2021 according to official figures