BUENOS AIRES, April 23 (Reuters) - Argentina's industrial production dropped in March for a third straight month, falling 0.9 percent from a year earlier due to the ailing steel and automotive sectors, the government said on Thursday.
The figure topped the median forecast in a Reuters poll, which had predicted a 1.7 percent decline in production.
Factory output was dragged down by a 39 percent decline in steel and aluminum production, a 19 percent fall in the automotive sector and an 18 percent decline for textiles.
Several analysts said production did not suffer an even greater setback because industrial performance was relatively weak in March 2008 and because last month's car production data was better-than-expected.
In the first quarter, overall factory output fell 2.3 percent in non-seasonally adjusted terms, according to the INDEC national statistics agency.
In March 2008, industrial production grew 2.5 percent while in February of this year, year-on-year output shrank by 1.5 percent.
Private analysts forecast that industrial production is falling more quickly than the government reports, heaping doubts on government data that first emerged with official inflation figures more than two years ago.
Orlando Ferreres & Asociados consulting firm estimated that industrial production fell 9.4 percent in the first quarter, while the FIEL research foundation put the figure at 13.1 percent year-on-year.
INDEC said March's factory output fell 1.1 percent from February in seasonally-adjusted terms.
The world economic downturn has slashed external demand for many products and is also affecting the market in Argentina, where an economic boom has come to an abrupt end.
Latin America's No. 3 economy is slowing sharply after six straight years of at least 7 percent annual growth, hurt by the global crisis and local political and economic uncertainties.
The International Monetary Fund predicted this week that Argentina's economy would contract 1.5 percent in 2009, but the government rejected this, saying data from the first months of this year showed 'the Argentine economy continues growing.'
(Reporting by Lucas Bergman and Hilary Burke; Editing by Dan Grebler)
((hilary.burke@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +54-11-4318-0663; Reuters Messaging: hilary.burke.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For historical Argentine statistical data in Spanish, please see pages through)) Keywords: ARGENTINA ECONOMY/INDUSTRY (Xtra: To see a calendar of Argentine economic indicators please click on or type in ARECI02 on a quote page and press enter. For separate pages detailing Argentine analysts' economic forecasts, click on,, and) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The figure topped the median forecast in a Reuters poll, which had predicted a 1.7 percent decline in production.
Factory output was dragged down by a 39 percent decline in steel and aluminum production, a 19 percent fall in the automotive sector and an 18 percent decline for textiles.
Several analysts said production did not suffer an even greater setback because industrial performance was relatively weak in March 2008 and because last month's car production data was better-than-expected.
In the first quarter, overall factory output fell 2.3 percent in non-seasonally adjusted terms, according to the INDEC national statistics agency.
In March 2008, industrial production grew 2.5 percent while in February of this year, year-on-year output shrank by 1.5 percent.
Private analysts forecast that industrial production is falling more quickly than the government reports, heaping doubts on government data that first emerged with official inflation figures more than two years ago.
Orlando Ferreres & Asociados consulting firm estimated that industrial production fell 9.4 percent in the first quarter, while the FIEL research foundation put the figure at 13.1 percent year-on-year.
INDEC said March's factory output fell 1.1 percent from February in seasonally-adjusted terms.
The world economic downturn has slashed external demand for many products and is also affecting the market in Argentina, where an economic boom has come to an abrupt end.
Latin America's No. 3 economy is slowing sharply after six straight years of at least 7 percent annual growth, hurt by the global crisis and local political and economic uncertainties.
The International Monetary Fund predicted this week that Argentina's economy would contract 1.5 percent in 2009, but the government rejected this, saying data from the first months of this year showed 'the Argentine economy continues growing.'
(Reporting by Lucas Bergman and Hilary Burke; Editing by Dan Grebler)
((hilary.burke@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +54-11-4318-0663; Reuters Messaging: hilary.burke.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For historical Argentine statistical data in Spanish, please see pages through)) Keywords: ARGENTINA ECONOMY/INDUSTRY (Xtra: To see a calendar of Argentine economic indicators please click on or type in ARECI02 on a quote page and press enter. For separate pages detailing Argentine analysts' economic forecasts, click on,, and) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.