Overview
- INDEC reported that activity in April 2026 fell 1.5% month‑on‑month on a seasonally adjusted basis and rose 1.6% year‑on‑year, with the first four months of the year up about 2.1% and the trend‑cycle still edging higher.
- The annual gain in April was concentrated in extractive and tradable sectors, with mining up 17.1% and agriculture up 10.9%, and those two sectors together contributing 1.8 percentage points to EMAE growth.
- Manufacturing continued to drag the recovery, contracting roughly 2.9% year‑on‑year as the auto industry logged nearly a year of falling output and a close to 20% drop year‑to‑date while chemicals and plastics also weakened.
- Banks and the central bank report that credit and consumption are only slowly recovering: card spending and check clearing fell, nonperforming loans remain elevated, and new lending is returning in a selective way.
- The government stresses cumulative gains and presses reforms and public works to broaden the recovery, but private analysts warn that weak investment and limited credit access make it uncertain whether export‑led growth will translate into sustained jobs and higher household incomes; May activity and credit trends will be key to watch.