BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (Reuters) - Argentina's industrial production fell for a fourth straight month in April, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier on steep declines in the automotive and steel sectors, the government said on Friday.
The figure came in significantly lower than the median forecast for a 4.3 percent decline in a Reuters poll of nine local and foreign analysts, whose estimates ranged from a decrease of between 1.4 percent and 5.0 percent.
Steel production plummeted 39.6 percent in April compared with the same month a year ago, while output in the automotive industry fell 29.8 percent.
The government also reported a 12.8 percent increase in food production in April year-on-year, and an 11.9 percent rise in output in the chemicals sector.
Industry output rose 2.3 percent compared to March, according to the government's seasonally adjusted data.
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 discredited for more than two years.
'In explaining INDEC's interannual figure, the auto and steel figures take on vital importance because, according to INDEC, that means the rest of the industrial sector has grown slightly above a 6 percent annual rate,' economic consultancy Joaquin Ledesma & Asociados said in a report.
'This clearly shows that the official figures are not reflecting reality,' it said.
In March, the government reported a 0.9 percent drop in industrial production.
But figures from the Argentine Industrial Union, the largest association of factory owners, showed a sharper year-on-year fall than government data. Consulting firms FIEL and Orlando Ferreres & Asociados identified the same trend.
The Argentine economy is slowing after expanding by at least 7 percent a year from 2003 to 2008.
President Cristina Fernandez recently said there was 'no way' Argentina's economy would contract this year despite the global economic downturn.
However, many private economists disagree.
A monthly central bank poll showed economists expect April's industrial production would fall 1.4 percent, according to the median forecast. The forecast tends to reflect what economists think the government will report.
((Reporting by Lucas Bergman; Writing by Kevin Gray; editing by Gary Crosse))
((kevin.gray@thomsonreuters.com; +54-11-4510-25055; Reuters Messaging: kevin.gray.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For help: click 'Contact Us' on your desktop, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products. For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-5546))
((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 came in significantly lower than the median forecast for a 4.3 percent decline in a Reuters poll of nine local and foreign analysts, whose estimates ranged from a decrease of between 1.4 percent and 5.0 percent.
Steel production plummeted 39.6 percent in April compared with the same month a year ago, while output in the automotive industry fell 29.8 percent.
The government also reported a 12.8 percent increase in food production in April year-on-year, and an 11.9 percent rise in output in the chemicals sector.
Industry output rose 2.3 percent compared to March, according to the government's seasonally adjusted data.
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 discredited for more than two years.
'In explaining INDEC's interannual figure, the auto and steel figures take on vital importance because, according to INDEC, that means the rest of the industrial sector has grown slightly above a 6 percent annual rate,' economic consultancy Joaquin Ledesma & Asociados said in a report.
'This clearly shows that the official figures are not reflecting reality,' it said.
In March, the government reported a 0.9 percent drop in industrial production.
But figures from the Argentine Industrial Union, the largest association of factory owners, showed a sharper year-on-year fall than government data. Consulting firms FIEL and Orlando Ferreres & Asociados identified the same trend.
The Argentine economy is slowing after expanding by at least 7 percent a year from 2003 to 2008.
President Cristina Fernandez recently said there was 'no way' Argentina's economy would contract this year despite the global economic downturn.
However, many private economists disagree.
A monthly central bank poll showed economists expect April's industrial production would fall 1.4 percent, according to the median forecast. The forecast tends to reflect what economists think the government will report.
((Reporting by Lucas Bergman; Writing by Kevin Gray; editing by Gary Crosse))
((kevin.gray@thomsonreuters.com; +54-11-4510-25055; Reuters Messaging: kevin.gray.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((For help: click 'Contact Us' on your desktop, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products. For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-5546))
((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.