BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina’s economic activity rose 5.5% in December compared with the same month in the prior year, growing at its fastest pace since mid-2022, official data showed on Tuesday.
The increase also beat a 3.5% expansion expected by analysts surveyed by Reuters in the grain-rich South American nation.
The data compares with a revised 0.4% year-on-year growth in the prior month. December’s increase was driven by expansions in nine productive sectors, mainly the financial intermediation and the commerce sectors, according to data from the statistics agency INDEC.
Argentina’s economic activity increased 0.5% in December versus a month earlier, the third monthly increase in a row.
The data points to a possible turnaround for Argentina’s battered economy, which was hit hard by libertarian President Javier Milei’s tough austerity measures.
INDEC also posted a 1.8% annual drop in the country’s economic activity in 2024.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Walter Bianchi; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Lisa Shumaker)
