Argentina industrial production plunged 6.8 percent in October 2018 after plummeting 11.5 percent in the previous month. It was the sixth straight drop, mainly explained in October by contractions in all categories excluding oil refining (+8.0 percent vs -11.0 percent in September) and food & beverages (+2.5 percent vs -3.2 percent), the latter mainly nudged by tea (+19.4 percent), dairy products (+9.6 percent), and red meat (+8.6 percent). Among decliners, sharp contractions were observed in textiles (-23.4 percent) and metalworkings (-21.3 percent). Also, vehicle production declined 10.8 percent. Considering the first ten months of 2018, industrial activity shrank 2.5 percent compared to same period of the previous year. Industrial Production in Argentina averaged 2.16 percent from 1995 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 24.60 percent in March of 2003 and a record low of -22.30 percent in March of 2002.
Industrial Production in Argentina is expected to be -3.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Industrial Production in Argentina to stand at 1.20 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Argentina Industrial Production is projected to trend around 1.30 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.