RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After unprecedented contractions in the year of the pandemic outbreak, the Argentine economy continued to grow, but in October, this rebound lost strength.
In the tenth month of the year, the Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity (EMAE) grew by 6.7% in the annual comparison, below September’s 11.4%, and below the 8.1% that the analysts’ survey averaged.
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However, in comparison with September, the activity of the trans-Andean country suffered a 0.8% drop in the tenth month of the year, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
This decline halted a four-month streak of blue numbers since May had been the last time activity contracted, with a 1.1% decrease.
However, for the fourth consecutive month, the Argentine economy has been above pre-decade levels, and since February of last year, the increase has been 2.1%.
In the ten accumulated months of this year, the indicator recorded a growth of 10.4%, slightly below the 10.8% that had expanded up to September, but in line with what has been achieved in recent months.
SECTORIAL RESULTS
In the breakdown by industry, the eleven sectors that make up the EMAE reported blue numbers, with hotels and restaurants and mining and quarrying with the highest increases of 61% and 17.7%, respectively.
Between the two, they added one percentage point to the year-on-year increase of the EMAE.
On the other hand, the most significant decreases came from agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry, and fishing, with decreases of 1.6% and 32.6%, respectively. Between the two, they subtracted 0.2 points from the indicator in October.
This contrasts with what had occurred during most of the year when construction, manufacturing, and trade – both wholesale and retail – had driven economic activity.
But as health restrictions continue to ease, tourism has rebounded strongly.