Reuters reported that Argentina's industrial production rose by 0.6% YoY in June 2009 from a year earlier in the first rise after 5 consecutive monthly drops.
INDEC national statistics agency said that Argentine factory output rose by just 1.6% in June 2008, at that time its smallest rise since November 2002, as a strike by farmers hit the vital meat and grains processing industry. It added that industry output fell by 0.6% in June 2009 from May in seasonally adjusted terms.
It said steel production slumped by 35.8% and automobile output fell by 12.1%. Economic analysts have accused the government of releasing overly optimistic numbers on industrial production, economic growth and unemployment, echoing doubts over official inflation data, which has been questioned for more than two years.
Hit by the global economic downturn, Argentina industrial production began contracting in January for the first time since 2002. In May, the government reported a 1.7% drop in industrial production
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