Wholesale prices rose by 4.4% in December and by 35.4% in 2020, higher than in November (4.2%). This acceleration was mainly driven by agricultural products (7.2%) and hydrocarbons (8.6%).
Monetary assistance reached 8.2% of GDP in 2020
According to government estimates, the measures implemented to contain the adverse effects of covid-19 were equivalent to 4.9% of GDP. It forced the national administration to seek financing and, although it bet on public debt placements in the local market, a large part came from the Central Bank's monetary assistance: the entity turned over 8.2% of the GDP to the Treasury.
Construction costs rose by 42.3% in 2020
The cost of construction increased by 3.4% during December and accumulated a 42.3% rise over the whole of 2020. According to the INDEC, the variation in the last month of last year resulted from a 6.2% increase in Materials, 0.8% in Labour and 3.2% in General Expenses.
The Argentine startup Satellogic will launch satellites with the company Space X
Satellogic, a young Argentine technology-oriented aerospace business, closed a deal with Elon Musk's Space X to put four nanosatellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 starting in June. The aim is to build a constellation of 300 satellites, all of them manufactured by the company. The company was created in 2010 and has already received $120 million investments and is shaping up to be a unicorn. To date, it has launched 21 low-cost nanosatellites and plans to triple that number by 2023.
ARBA implemented an exemption of up to 50% in the payment of Gross Income
The Revenue Agency of the Province of Buenos Aires (ARBA) implemented the exemption of up to 50% in the Gross Income Tax payment to favour the taxpayers who were most affected by the pandemic. The resolution covers operations accrued between July 1 and December 31, 2020, and extends to a set of 206 economic activities.
The industry grew 6% in December
According to the advanced index prepared by the Centre for Production Studies, which considers the energy consumption provided by CAMMESA, the year-on-year expansion of activity was 6.1%. The improvement was driven by the most influential sectors: the steel, metal-mechanic and automotive industries.
Santander partners with Mercado Libre to finance car sales
Santander Argentina and Mercado Libre closed an agreement that makes available to users of the e-commerce platform a line of collateral financing for vehicles' online purchase by a single click. The funding has a limit of up to 3.1 million pesos, significantly reducing granting and leaving the paperwork only for the last stage of the operation. The new service has more than 22,000 publications, 75% of which are new vehicles and 25% used.
Rio Negro received more than 100 thousand tourists in January who injected $8.75 mn
The Patagonian province of Río Negro was one of the most chosen destinations during the first half of January, with the visit of 100 thousand tourists and some 30 thousand hikers, who injected some 753,195,000 pesos ($8.75 mn) into the regional economies.
State cargo trains carried 15% more by 2020
The state company Trenes Argentinos Cargas transported 15% more tons of production during 2020. Sixty-five per cent of the volume of traffic is grain, but they have also expanded the movement of products from regional economies.
During 2020, national public debt increased by more than $13 bn
Although the swap agreed with the creditors, during 2020 in pesos and foreign currency, the national public debt grew by $13.02 million. According to the Ministry of Finance, it rose from $323.06 in 2019 to $336.09 billion in 2020. This level of public debt does not include the obligations of the provinces or the Central Bank. And it is estimated to be around 100% of GDP versus 89.5% in 2019.
