BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s economy in the July to September period notched its first quarter-on-quarter economic expansion since entering a technical recession at the end 2023, but contracted yet again in yearly terms, official data showed on Monday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 3.9% in the third quarter in seasonally-adjusted terms versus the second quarter, coming after three consecutive quarter-on-quarter declines.
Versus a year earlier, GDP declined 2.1%, the sixth straight contraction. That compares to analysts’ forecasts for a 2.6% decline.
Argentina’s economy has faltered as industry slowed amid a harsh austerity drive by libertarian President Javier Milei.
Milei’s administration has slashed social spending and launched mass public sector layoffs, and one of the world’s highest annual inflation rates has come down to 166%. But the economy has slowed and poverty rates have surged past 50%.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Hernan Nessi; Editing by Anthony Esposito)
