Mexico's economy grew 3.9% in 2012

The Mexican economy grew 3.9 percent last year, beating government forecasts in Latin America's second biggest economy, official figures showed Monday. The country had posted similar growth in 2011 and the government had forecast a rise of 3.5 percent for 2012. Agricultural activity gave a boost to the economy with 6.7 percent annual growth due to higher production in foods such as beans, corn and wheat, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The economy grew by 3.2 percent in the last quarter of 2012 compared to the same period the previous year. Mexico had sunk into deep recession in 2009 as the world financial crisis caused its economy to contract by six percent. But the country, second to Brazil economically in the region, bounced back in 2010 with 5.3 percent growth.