LatinNews Daily - 19 July 2023

*Argentina’s national statistics institute (Indec) has released the latest figures on economic activity, which it estimated to have decreased by 0.1% in May 2023 as compared to the previous month. In year-on-year terms, economic activity was down 5.5% in May 2023 as compared to May 2022. The biggest yearly decreases were registered in agriculture, livestock, hunting & forestry (-43.8%) and fishing (-22.6%), reflecting the continuing impact of the severe drought in Argentina. Contractions were also registered in electricity, gas & water (-6.6%) and transport & communications (-2.7%), while the largest yearly increases were seen in mining & quarrying (+5.3%) and hotels & restaurants (+4.1%). On 17 July, the Argentine government sent a delegation to the US to negotiate a revision to the country’s current debt restructuring programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) given the economic impact of the drought.