Argentine economy up 6.3 percent in March

Argentina’s economy ramped up 6.3 percent in March compared to the same month the year before and remained unaltered since February, according to the National Statistics and Censuses Institute (INDEC).

The monthly economic index scored a 5.2 percent increase during the first quarter of the year compared to the same span of time in 2002 –penciled in as one of the worst periods ever for the Argentine economy- and went up 2.1 percent in keeping with the last quarter of 2002.

If the country managed to hold on to those levels, the overall economy could grow between 4.1 and 4.2 percent this year, said Fernando Cerro, head of National Accounts at INDEC. This positive spin could definitely put an end to a recession that unraveled in the summer of 1998.

“This second quarter of the year is going to put up an estimated record high, so growth must be higher,” Mr. Cerro was reportedly quoted by news agency DyN.

The sector that bore the brunt of the nation’s economic growth were the manufacturing industry (it grew by 22 percent), building (up 18.5 percent), cargo transportation (8.5 percent) and service to enterprises (it rose 10 percent), let alone a remarkable improvement nicked by the tourist industry.