Due to a more significant easing of restrictions, the economy bounced 10% in May compared to April, as reported this Wednesday by the INDEC. However, the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE) showed a 20.6% drop compared to the same month in 2019. In the first five months of the year, the EMAE accumulated a fall of 13.2% compared to the same period last year. In April, the economy had collapsed by 26.4%.
The national public sector ended June with a primary deficit of 3 points of GDP. The data show the deterioration that the pandemic caused on public finances since on the one hand; it generated a drop in resources and on the other, it forced an increase in spending. Revenues rose by only 23%. Economists project a deficit for the whole of 2020 of between 7 and 8 points of GDP.
Argentine shares traded on Wall Street rose to 8.4% while dollar bonds recorded increases of up to 3.9%, which reflected in a sharp drop in country risk. The JPMorgan index fell by 3.5% (83 units) to 2,273 basis points.
A report by the Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Senasa) highlighted that exports of meat, fruit and vegetables grew in the first half of the year between 14% and 20% year-on-year. Fruit exports had a jump of 22%, those of beef, poultry and pork products and by-products, increased 14% over the same period in 2019. Vegetable exports grew 15%.
In June, a typical family needed to have an income 40.7% higher than in the same month last year to avoid falling into poverty, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC). The monthly increase of the Basic Food Basket (CBA, used to measure indigence) was 0.9%, while the variation of the Total Basic Basket (CBT, used to measure poverty) was 1.7%. The interannual variations of the CBA and the CBT were 45.3% and 40.7%, respectively.
