Economic activity in Argentina grew 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period of the previous year, the INDEC national statistics bureau has reported.
According to the bureau, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 1.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.
The figure refers to a period of growth in the months before a run on the peso forced a currency crisis, encouraging President Mauricio Macri's administration to look to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financing last month. Analysts believe the next quarter's growth figures may be less bright, as they will accommodate a hike in interest rates and economic adjustments agreed as part of the IMF deal.
Last year, the government anticipated that economic growth would be around 3.5 percent, though those estimates have been lowered in the wake of the recent distress. Finance Minister Nicolás Dujovne has speculated the new figure could be between 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent.
Argentina's GDP increased 2.8 percent in 2017, according to government estimates.
-9 AFP
Comments