Unemployment fell in the first quarter and reached 10.2%

The unemployment rate was 10.2% during the first quarter of 2021, as reported this Thursday by INDEC. Thus, it contracted 0.2 percentage points compared to the same 2020 and 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. A lower number of unemployed and an increase in the activity rate (which went from 45% to 46.3%) explains it, covering approximately 29 million people.

Trade surplus reached $1.62 bn

On the back of solid growth in exports on record commodity prices, the trade balance in May showed a surplus of $1.62 billion, the highest figure in a year.

May inflation was 3.3%

Inflation in May was 3.3%, as published by INDEC. The figure is lower than what the market expected and slowed down concerning the 4% floor recorded in the last months. However, the Consumer Price Index accumulates an increase of 21.5% in the first five months of the year, the highest inflationary start for an electoral period, despite tariffs and the dollar as "anchors".

Due to tax pressure, the State retains almost 62% of agricultural income

The June report of the Fundación Agropecuaria para el Desarrollo de Argentina (FADA) showed that in the last quarter, 61.8% of the income produced by the farm retained by the State through the collection of taxes. The main component of these taxes is export duties, which added the tax on bank credits and debits.

Public debt exceeded $341 bn

Preliminary statistics on Central Government debt showed a new increase in financial commitments, to $341.17 billion. In addition, $338.56 billion are regular payment, $106 million are deferred payment, and $2.5 billion are eligible for restructuring. The debt increased in May by $1.23 billion due to the growth of net credit taken to finance the public finance deficit; and $1.42 billion due to adjustments and exchange differences.

Government boosts the economy: will inject $525 million

The changes in the Income Tax of the fourth category that will be in force as from July will imply an additional disposable income for workers of 50 billion pesos ($525 mn). The data, released by AFIP, consider what will stop withholding income tax to 1.2 million people during the second half of 2021 and what will return it to them in five instalments of everything withheld from January until today. The Government expects to release 8 billion pesos ($84 mn) to the economy in July.

Covid spending: up 300% and exceeds $1.31 bn

In only five months and with the pandemic far from its end, government spending on the coronavirus increased 309%. By May, the government spent 125.43 billion pesos ($1.31 billion) on covid, which leaves almost 70% remaining of the budget and credits to face the pandemic. Source: Ámbito

Successful placement of $21.38 mn real estate investment fund

This week, the first real estate Closed-end Mutual Fund, Pellegrini I, was placed in the local capital market to finance the development and construction of housing for the middle and low-income sectors of the population. Pellegrini S.A., a company of Banco Nación, acted as Managing Company and Banco de Valores acted as depositary, arranging the issue and the placement, which closed at a total of 2,033 million pesos ($21.38 mn).

IDB to lend $200 mn to Argentina for sanitation works

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $200 million loan to finance a drinking water and sanitation program to benefit some 184,000 households "with new and improved connections to these basic services in towns with less than 50,000 inhabitants". The Argentine government will provide the remaining $50 million to carry out the project.

Extrugreen cereal company suspended for failure to settle operations for $70 mn

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) suspended today the operations in the foreign exchange market of the cereal company Extrugreen S.A. for accumulating defaults in the liquidation of foreign currency in goods export operations for an amount of almost $70 million. Thus, the company will only access the Mercado Único y Libre de Cambios (MULC) to settle pending exports until it regularizes its situation.