Argentina: Merchandise exports rebound in January
Merchandise exports expanded 7.3% in annual terms in January, strongly contrasting December’s 34.1% slump, which had the worst reading since September 2009. The print reflected skyrocketing foreign sales of agricultural manufactures more than offsetting tumbling exports of primary products and dips in exports of manufactures of industrial origin and fuels and energy. In terms of export markets, January’s print mainly resulted from soaring overseas shipments to Brazin, India and Spain outweighing falling sales to Chile, Germany and Vietnam.
Merchandise imports rose 8.7% in annual terms in January (December 2020: +24.7% yoy). The increase largely reflected soaring purchases of capital and intermediate goods as well as of motor vehicles.
Meanwhile, the trade balance swung to a USD 1.1 billion surplus in January from a USD 0.4 billion deficit in December, marking the strongest reading since August 2020 (January 2020: USD 1.0 billion surplus). Lastly, the 12-month rolling trade balance inched up to a USD 12.6 billion surplus in January from December’s USD 12.5 billion surplus (January 2020: USD 16.7 billion surplus).