Mexico's Institute of Finance Executives, or IMEF, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose in August from the previous month, continuing to point to moderate expansion ahead.

IMEF said the manufacturing index rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.5 from 50.4 in July, while its non-manufacturing index, which measures activity in the services sector, fell to 52 from 52.5 in July. Both readings were below their year-ago levels.

As with the indexes of the U.S. Institute for Supply Management, readings of 50 or higher indicate expansion, and readings below 50 point to contraction.

IMEF said that there remains a moderate slowing trend in both manufacturing and services, although the August data aren't yet showing a significant slowdown, and are "consistent with the moderate growth which we expect for the second half of the year."

An increase in new orders was the main cause of the rise in the index last month, which offset decreases in production and employment.

Economists have been cutting their estimates for Mexico's economic growth this year, largely in response to the slowdown in the U.S., where Mexico sends about 80% of its exports. In the Bank of Mexico's August survey of private economists, the average estimate for growth this year in gross domestic product fell to 3.8% from 4.2% the previous month.

Although the IMEF results do suggest that manufacturing activity in Mexico has started to slow down, the evidence suggests there is a longer-than-usual lag between the global slowdown and its effect on the Mexican economy, IMEF said. But Mexico's high level of integration with the U.S. "makes it practically inevitable that sooner or later the U.S. slowdown will be reflected in economic activity in Mexico."