Argentina's economy beats estimates with 2.3% growth in first quarter

Argentina's economy grew 2.3% in the first quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, driven by a strong agricultural harvest, surge in exports, and expansion in mining and finance.

Argentina's economy grew 2.3% ​in the first quarter ‌versus a ​year before, the country's INDEC statistics agency said on Tuesday, beating analyst expectations with a strong ‌agricultural harvest, surge in exports, and expansion in mining and finance.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast that gross domestic product (GDP) would grow 1.7% for ‌the January to March period. The year-on-year increase was driven mainly ‌by a surge in the fishing sector, which grew 27.5% compared to the same period a year earlier. The agriculture, livestock and hunting industry rose 18.1%, while the ⁠mining ​and quarrying sector ⁠jumped 12.3%, INDEC said in a report. Exports increased 9.8% year-on-year, while private consumption climbed 2.7%, ⁠driven largely by imported goods, including cars. Gains were also recorded in sectors ​including financial intermediation, up 7.5% year-on-year, private households with domestic staff, which ⁠grew 6.3%, and the hotels and restaurants sector, with a 2.8% increase, INDEC ⁠added. The ​manufacturing and public administration sectors saw the sharpest interannual declines, shrinking 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. In seasonally adjusted terms, GDP for Latin America's third-largest ⁠economy grew 0.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, INDEC said. A ⁠survey by Argentina's ⁠central bank published in June found that analysts on average forecast an economic growth of 2.9% for 2026.