INFLATION-BATTERED Argentina registered economic growth of 5.2% last year, slower than in 2021, but the first time in more than a decade the country has had two consecutive years of expansion, official data showed yesterday.

After a GDP growth of 10.3% in 2021, last year’s 5.2% suggested a rebound in Latin America’s third-largest economy, turning the page on a three-year cycle or recession due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Provisional data by the National  Institute of Statistics and Census showed improvement in the hotel and restaurant sectors, while agriculture took a battering amid a prolonged drought.

Chronic inflation, which reached 94.8% in 2022, prevented the country from reaping some of the fruits of its economic growth.

Argentina also has to remain fiscally disciplined as part of a loan refinancing agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF has forecast growth of 2.0% for the South American country for this year, above the projected regional average. – AFP, February 24, 2023.