Argentina: Contraction in industrial production eases again in February
Industrial production shrank 8.5% over the same month of last year in February, according to data released by the National Statistical Institute (INDEC) on 4 April. The reading marked a less steep fall than January’s revised 10.9% year-on-year plunge (previously reported: -10.8% year-on-year).
February’s result reflected broad-based contractions. The categories of metal products and machinery and equipment; other equipment, instruments and apparatus; automotive and other transport equipment recorded the biggest drops. The production of food, beverages and tobacco was the only one that dodged a fall, although it recorded a merely imperceptible uptick. A marked fall in domestic demand was again behind the contraction in industrial output.
Meanwhile, the annual average variation in industrial output fell to a 7.1% contraction in February from a 5.9% drop in January.