SOUTHLAND

Mexican Trade Figures to Be Released: Many Southland businesses will want to watch closely the U.S.-Mexico trade statistics to be released Wednesday by the Commerce Department as part of its overall U.S. trade figures for February. That’s because the December peso devaluation has caused a radical turnaround in the trade flow, helping Mexico but hurting many Southland companies exporting south of the border. In January, the first full month of trade in the aftermath of the devaluation, Mexico posted an astounding $863-million trade surplus with the United States, reversing a $19-million deficit in December. And observers expect that Mexico added to those gains in February, figuring that foreign customers typically require about two months to fully adjust to dramatic shifts in currency values. And there is no doubt that the cheaper peso has caused a tremendous increase in demand for Mexican goods and services, including agriculture, tourism and petrochemicals, while the stronger dollar has hurt just about every U.S. company, including hundreds in the Southland, that sells in Mexico.