![Argentine economic activity plunges amid austerity drive](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/08/93/93/Argentine-economic-activity-plunges-247181.jpg)
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
![Argentine economic activity plunges amid austerity drive](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/08/93/93/Argentine-economic-activity-plunges-247181.jpg)
Argentine economic activity plunges amid austerity drive
Argentina's economic activity continued to plummet in March, with the construction and manufacturing industries leading the slowdown as President Javier Milei's government slashes spending, official figures showed Wednesday.
The national statistics agency, INDEC, said that economic activity had slowed 8.4 percent year-on-year in March -- the biggest such interannual change since the Covid pandemic.
Milei took office in December, vowing to halt Argentina's economic decline and reduce the budget deficit to zero.
He slashed public spending, cut the cabinet in half, did away with tens of thousands of government jobs, suspended new public works contracts and ripped away fuel and transport subsidies.
He also devalued the peso by 50 percent, and the measures have hit consumers hard. While inflation is slowing, prices are still up some 290 percent from the previous year.
"Without a doubt, the path that the level of activity is following already speaks of a recession," Joel Lupieri, an economist at the consulting firm EPyCA, told AFP.
The construction industry saw economic activity drop 29.9 percent year-on-year after Milei cancelled almost all public works.
"Today, national public works are almost 100 percent stopped," Gustavo Weiss, president of the Argentine Chamber of Construction, told Forbes magazine in May, adding 100,000 jobs had been lost in the sector.
Lupieri said that beyond the disappearance of government works, "the sustained increase in the price of materials also leads to a fall in private demand."
Manufacturing activity dropped 19.6 percent, as aluminum and steel factories, automakers and tire manufacturers laid off workers and cut production.
The only areas that saw an uptick in activity were agriculture and livestock, which increased 14.1 percent and mining, which is up five percent.
The overall slump in activity is on its fifth consecutive decline since November.
"It is unlikely that a rebound will be evident before the second half of the year," said Lupieri.
The consulting firm Equilibria estimates a total 240,000 job losses in the first quarter of 2024.
The latest official data from INDEC in 2023 said some 41 percent of the country was living in poverty.
A more recent study from March this year by the Catholic University puts this figure at 55 percent.
The International Monetary Fund expects that Argentina's economy will contract by 2.8 percent this year.
Last week, it welcomed "faster-than-anticipated progress in restoring macroeconomic stability" in the South American country, but also warned of a "long and difficult road ahead."
F.Pavlenko--BTB