Argentina has fallen into recession. Key indicators released over the past week show slumps across the board, from consumer spending to manufacturing. Families are increasingly resorting to loans to afford food. Meanwhile, the informal dollar exchange rate, or “blue dollar,” reached an all-time peak of AR$1,300 on Thursday.

March economic activity fell by 8.4% year-on-year and 1.4% from February, the INDEC statistical bureau reported Wednesday. Activity has fallen for six straight months and was previously flat between August and September. This confirms the economy has shrunk for two consecutive quarters, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

Argentina’s GDP fell by 1.6% in 2023, and the International Monetary Fund forecast a 2.5% drop for 2024.

Consumer spending has tanked, too, with separate March INDEC figures showing yearly drops of 9.3% in sales at supermarket sales, 10.7% in wholesalers, and 11.3% at shopping malls.

The Córdoba Grocers’ Center measured a 30% drop in sales in April compared to March, a fact the center’s vice president Vanesa Ruiz attributed to incomes falling far behind inflation.

“People are no longer consuming and buying food,” she said. “Families are completely indebted. Nine out of ten households need to finance their food,” she........

© Buenos Aires Herald