Argentina: Trade deficit widens in April
Growth in exports moderated from a revised 17.4% year-on-year increase in March (previously reported: +17.2% year-on-year) to a softer 6.2% increase in April. The sharp slowdown was driven by a 13.3% contraction in exports of primary products and a notable slowdown in exports of primary products and of manufactured products. The contraction in primary products exports largely reflected the impact of a devastating drought in the agricultural sector throughout the first quarter.
Growth in imports jumped from 8.8% year-on-year in March to 22.7% in April. The increase was driven by a 34.6% expansion in imports of automotive vehicles and a 27.9% increase in imports of intermediate goods mostly used for industrial production in the country.
As exports expanded at a sharper pace than imports, the trade deficit widened from USD 598 million in March to USD 938 million in April (April 2017: USD 112 million deficit). The 12-month moving average of the trade deficit came in at USD 10.6 billion, slightly above March’s USD 9. 8 billion deficit (April 2017: USD 0.8 billion surplus).