Argentina's Economy Unlikely To Recover Soon
Argentina's economy will unlikely recover soon, as the country's president Mauricio Macri stated.
Industrial output dropped 8 percent in October from a previous year while construction sector slipped 19 percent, according to the statistics body on Wednesday as quoted by Bloomberg. Both sectors, which contribute to 20 percent of the country's growth, started to slow down in September.
The recovery hasn't been seen since September, as said by Orlando Ferreres, from consulting company Orlando Ferreres&Asociados . He added that there have been some factors that decreased confidence, leading to the 5 percent decrease in real wages. However, Ferreres still hopes the economy will survive with a growth showing in December and recovery by March or April.
Macri told the economy will likely recover in the fourth quarter, slower than the initial plan. The president has taken some measures to boost the growth.
The growth contracted 2.1 percent in the second quarter from the earlier quarter, its third consecutive quarterly slowdown.
Macri was elected as Argentina's president in 2015, gaining a full support from the Argentine business community. He carried out his campaign promises by slashing inflation, driving foreign investments, and strengthening the foundation of the country to be the regional's economy powerhouse. The policy was highly appreciated as the region is facing the impact of Brazil's economic and political crisis.
In addition, Macri himself stated that the government won't likely be able to reduce deficit by 4 percent as forecast, as the country should balance between the austerity and the fiscal responsibility to maintain growth, as Alan Fleischmann wrote in Fortune.
Based on a recent survey by the country's central bank, economists forecast inflation will likely be cut in 2017, with a 3.2 percent rise in GDP next year after shrinking 1.5% this year. While The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects predicts the recession will fade away in 2016 and capital inflows will sustain through 2017.
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