Argentina: Exports continue to fall amid coronavirus crisis in June
Exports fell 8.6% in year-on-year terms in June, following May’s sharper 16.3% dive. The print was again the result of plummeting exports of manufactured products of industrial origin and of fuels and energy, which more than offset a surge in foreign sales of primary products. In terms of export markets, June’s print mainly resulted from tumbling overseas shipments to Brazil, Chile and India outweighing soaring exports to the U.S. and China.
Imports slumped 20.8% annually in June, a less pronounced contraction than May’s 31.8% dive. Free-falling imports of passenger motor vehicles, fuels and lubricants, and capital goods drove June’s downturn.
Meanwhile, the trade surplus in June shrank from May’s USD 1.9 billion to 1.5 billion (June 2019: USD 1.1 billion surplus). Moreover, the 12-month rolling trade balance rose from May’s USD 18.0 billion surplus to a 18.5 billion surplus in June, marking the highest result in the series’ history (June 2019: USD 6.8 billion surplus).