Argentina: Financial turmoil hits economic activity in August
The monthly indicator for economic activity (EMAE, Estimador Mensual de Actividad Económica) fell 3.8% year-on-year in August, after logging a revised 0.5% uptick in July (previously reported: +0.6% year-on-year). August’s contraction was prompted by the financial turbulence and peso selloff which followed the unexpectedly large victory of Alberto Fernández at 11 August’s primary elections.
In terms of productive sectors, August’s downturn was largely driven by much softer growth in agricultural production, as well as by sharper contractions in the manufacturing, construction, internal trade and financial industries. On the flip side, growth in the mining and quarrying sector accelerated, while fishing production contracted at a milder pace.
A month-on-month comparison showed that economic activity dropped 1.0% in seasonally-adjusted terms in August, contrasting July’s 1.3% jump. Meanwhile, the annual average variation in economic activity deteriorated from a 3.4% contraction in July to a 3.6% fall in August.