Economic activity contracted by 2.2% in February, says INDEC

Argentina's economy contracted by 2.2 percent in February 2020 compared to the same month the previous year, the INDEC national statistics bureau revealed Tuesday.

Data from the bureau shows that economic activity declined by two percent overall in the first two months of the year, prior to the coronavirus-induced nationwide shutdown put in place by President Alberto Fernández in mid-March.

INDEC said that the economic results from the first two months were a hangover from almost two years of recession in Argentina. Gross domestic product fell by 2.6 percent in 2018 and 2.2 percent in 2019.

The bureau said that economic activity had fallen by 1.1 percent in February from the previous month.

Citing the semi-paralysis in economic activity, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted this month that Argentina's GDP will slump by 5.7 percent this year.

Construction was the worst-hit sector in February, according to INDEC, slumping 20.4 percent year-on-year. In contrast, mining and quarrying posted a 3.5 percent rise from February 2019. 

– TIMES/AFP