Argentina: Economic activity expands for the first time in over a year, dazzling markets
The monthly indicator for economic activity (EMAE, Estimador Mensual de Actividad Económica) increased 2.6% in annual terms in May, contrasting the 1.3% fall recorded in April. The reading represents the best result since February 2018 and surprised markets sharply on the upside.
May’s result saw broad-based improvements, and came largely on the back of a stronger jump in output in the agriculture, hunting and forestry sector, which surged by almost 50%. Moreover, growth in the mining and quarrying sector picked-up, while most of the remaining sectors recorded less severe contractions compared with the previous month. On the other hand, the financial intermediation sector contracted at a sharper pace.
A month-on-month comparison showed that economic activity rose 0.2% in seasonally-adjusted terms in May, following April’s 0.9% jump. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in economic activity improved from a 4.9% contraction in April to a 4.3% fall in May.