Mexican consumer confidence dives in January

Consumer confidence in Mexico plummeted 25.7% year-on-year in January, capped off by a 17.9% month-on-month drop from December alone, falling to the lowest level ever recorded by statistics agency INEGI going back to April 2001.

The metric had already seen significant declines throughout 2016 as consumers felt growing economic pressure from low oil prices, higher interest rates and a government implementing austerity measures.

These were significantly compounded by the election of Donald Trump as US President, bringing with his administration the threat of a nationalistic and protectionist agenda that could wreak a certain degree of havoc on Mexico's economy.

January brought further peso depreciation, a 15-20% hike in fuel prices and signs of a critical breakdown in US-Mexico trade relations, as Trump took office.

The seasonally adjusted index finished the year at 69.3, where the 100-mark standard was established in 2003, and the new INEGI results represent the lowest single-month and the biggest annual drop recorded in its nearly 16-year collection of data.

Consumers showed dramatic declines in all subcategories, with the most pronounced coming with a 58.9% y-o-y negative shift in their outlook on inflation.

Other areas also showed tanking public opinion, such as confidence for the nation's economic situation and its performance in the next 12 months, declining 33.3% and 34.5% y-o-y, respectively.

The outlook for families on potential large purchases also saw a big drop, falling 31.4% – the largest y-o-y decline seen since May 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis.