Mexico City, March 2 (IANS): Mexico's economy is facing a "fragile and hesitant" recovery amid signs of weakness in the manufacturing and service sectors, it was revealed

In its monthly economic analysis released on Monday, the Mexican Institute of Financial Executives (IMEF) said that its manufacturing indicator declined 0.3 points in February to 49.1 units, staying in the contraction zone for 21 consecutive months, reports Xinhua news agency.

The IMEF's index that measures activity in the service sector, rose 1.1 points in February to 49.4 units, but remained in the contraction zone for the 13th month in a row.

"February's IMEF indicator results suggest that during the second month of the year, economic activity remained sluggish," said the institute, which consists of financial leaders of major companies.

Meanwhile, according to the institute, there is "growing optimism" regarding a global economic recovery, mainly due to the advances in the vaccination process against the Covid-19 pandemic in several countries.

Mexico currently accounts for the 13th highest coronavirus caseload in the world and the third largest death toll.

As of Tuesday, the country's confirmed cases and deaths stood at 2,086,938 and 185,715, respectively.