A Mexican manufacturing sector survey pointed to future growth for a sixth straight month in December but the reading suggested the economic recovery could be losing some steam in Mexico.

The IMEF factory index held flat at 52.6 during the month, the Mexican Institute of Financial Executives, or IMEF.

Readings of 50 and above signal likely expansion in subsequent months. The index first breached that level in July.

Mexico’s economy sank deeply in the first half of 2009 but the government and central bank think it returned to growth in the third quarter.

“This suggests that the industrial sector will continue to recover, though at a more moderate pace,” the IMEF said.

The fate of the Mexican economy is directly tied to the United States, which buys more than 80 percent of Mexican exports.