Argentine economy shrank 9.9% in 2020 due to pandemic

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina's economy shrank by 9.9 percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the worst fall in almost 20 years, the national statistics institute said on Tuesday.

The fall -- the worst since GDP plunged by 10.9 percent in 2002 -- was nonetheless not as bad as the 11.8 percent drop projected by the IMF.

The worst affected industries were hotels and restaurants (down 49.2 percent), community, social and personal services (-38.9) and construction (-22.6).

Fishing (-20.9), domestic services (-18.6), transport and communications (-17), and mining exploitation (-10.5) were also hit hard.

Imports were also down 18.1 percent, exports fell 17.7 percent, consumption dropped 13.1 percent and investment slowed by 13 percent.

Manufacturing wasn't as badly hit but still shrank by 7.7 percent.

On the flip side, financial mediation grew by 2.1 percent and electricity, gas and water saw an increase of 0.9 percent.

The worst period in 2020 was between April and May when measures to restrict the spread of the coronavirus were at their strictest.