(Updates with details, background) MEXICO CITY, May 18 (Reuters) - Mexico’s economy likely grew by more than a fifth in April compared to the same month last year, when the coronavirus pandemic hammered business activity, a preliminary estimate published by national statistics agency INEGI showed on Tuesday. Latin America’s second-biggest economy probably expanded by 20.6% from April 2020, INEGI said. Last April, the economy shrank by 19.7% in seasonally-adjusted terms compared to the same month in 2019, separate figures from the agency showed. The April estimate projected that secondary activities, which include manufacturing, grew by 34.5% from the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile tertiary activities, which include services, likely expanded by 16.4% over the period, INEGI said. Key sectors of the economy such as carmaking ground to a virtual halt last April, the first full month that Mexico applied comprehensive COVID-19 lockdown measures. Figures for April showed automotive production leapt by more than 7,000% compared to the same month in 2020. Mexico’s economy shrank by 8.5% in total last year, and there is increasing optimism that a sizeable chunk of that ground can be made up this year. Some forecasters believe the Mexican economy could expand by 5% or more this year, with ratings agency Fitch on Monday the latest to revise up its growth projection. (Reporting by Marion Giraldo and Ricardo Figueroa in Santiago Writing by Dave Graham Editing by Alistair Bell) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.