INDEC: Industrial output fell 8.8% year-on-year in April

Industrial output slumped 8.8 percent in April compared to the same month a year previous, the INDEC national statistics bureau said Wednesday. That marked the 12th consecutive month of decline in terms of production.

Industrial output, as measured by INDEC’s Index of Industrial Production Manufacturing (IPI), has fallen by 10.6 percent overall in the first four months of the year.

However, with respect to March, manufacturing actually recovered 2.3 percent.

The bureau’s Indicator of Construction Activity (ISAC) also registered a drop of 7.5 percent yearon-year for construction in activities, confirming a 10.3-percent contraction for January to April and an eighth consecutive month of decline.

Vehicle manufacturing was hit particularly hard in April, with automobile production collapsing 26.2 percent with respect to the same month of 2018. In total, the sector has witnessed a decline of 26.1 percent in the first quarter of the year.

All sectors of the industry fell in April, including equipment and appliances (down 24.2 percent), furniture (down 21.3 percent), metal products and machinery (down 15.7 percent), textiles (down 16.8 percent).

Argentina’s economy is currently gripped by recession, with the economy expected to contract by around 1.5 percent, although the IMF forsees a decline of 1.2 percent.

Analysts now see inflation for 2019 coming in at 40.3 percent for the calendar year.