Mexico's pandemic-hit economy grew by more than initially thought in the first quarter of 2021 as it rebounds from the worst recession in decades, official figures showed Wednesday. Gross domestic product was up 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, government statistics agency INEGI reported, compared with a preliminary estimate of a 0.4 percent rise. Compared with the same period of last year, Latin America's second-largest economy was down 2.8 percent, it said. Quarterly growth slowed from a rate of 3.2 percent seen in the final three months of 2020 in the face of surging coronavirus infections and tighter lockdown measures. But analysts say the recovery now appears to be back on track thanks to a steady decline in new Covid-19 cases. Mexico's economy shrank 8.5 percent in 2020 in the worst slump since the Great Depression some nine decades ago. The finance ministry predicts that GDP will rebound by 5.3 percent in 2021 thanks to coronavirus vaccinations, increased export demand and stronger growth in key commercial partner the United States. jla-dr/bgs