Argentina’s Economic Activity Loses Steam, Misses Forecast

Argentina’s year-on-year economic activity growth slowed to 3.2% from 4.8% previously, a deceleration of 1.6 percentage points. The latest reading remains positive but marks a clear loss of momentum compared with the prior period’s stronger expansion.

The 3.2% print came in just below the 3.3% analyst estimate, signaling slightly softer-than-expected underlying growth. Equity markets are likely to read this as mildly negative for cyclical and domestically focused sectors such as consumer discretionary and industrials, which are sensitive to the pace of real activity. At the same time, the data may temper expectations for aggressive policy tightening, lending some support to rate-sensitive financials in the short term as investors reassess the growth–inflation trade-off.