Can Hardly Bend Painful Big Toe

INDEC reported that the economy grew 9.2% last year

Gross domestic product (GDP) of Argentina expanded 9.2 percent in 2010, while corporate profit remittance abroad weakened the current account, according to official figures released yesterday by the Statistics and Census Institute (INDEC) . The expansion of consumption and production sectors of goods and services were moved to the increase of GDP. For

Indec, macroeconomic developments in the fourth quarter of 2010 determined, according to provisional estimates of the body, a "positive change in the overall supply" of 11.8 percent over the same period in 2009. This increase was generated by a rise of 9.2 percent GDP and 32.7 percent of imports of goods and real services.

in global demand, the agency noted a positive change of 7.4 percent in exports of goods and real services and a rise of 24.7 percent in the gross domestic investment. The increase was due to an increase of 12.1 percent of investment in construction and 44.5 percent increase in durable equipment production. Within this last item, for the national component was estimated growth of 24.1 percent and imported 58.7 percent.

The rise in public consumption was 7.7 percent, while private consumption grew 11.5 percent. Producing sectors goods were in the fourth quarter of 2010 increased 9.4 percent and service sector recorded an annual rise of 8 percent.

The seasonally adjusted GDP for the fourth quarter versus the third of 2010 showed a positive variation of 2.5 percent.

The GDP in 2010 reached 1993 prices to 2010 to 422,130 million pesos, with a level of investment of 96.409 million.

INDEC official figures are disputed by private consultants and economists as to underestimate inflation levels, improve growth rates.

However, the report confirmed that the economy Indec grew nearly four times more than the projections with which they had made the 2010 budget, submitted in September 2009.

Perspectives. The Minister of Industry, Debora Giorgi, said yesterday that the investment growth in 2010, particularly aimed at expanding production capacity, "ensures a solid growth of our economy in the medium and long term."

"The role of investment reaching record levels, and in particular its focus on durable equipment," enable "an expansion of productive capacity and improving competitiveness, which will supply most domestic and external demand," Giorgi said.

investment, measured in constant value reached its highest level ever, "at a rate of 22.8 percent of GDP, close to the maximum of 2008, which was 23 percent," explained the official.

Instead, Orlando Ferreres consultancy said the industry currently has a low level of idle capacity and that "to increase production capacity is needed more investment."

Monthly Industrial Estimator (EMI) from last year shows a strong and sustained growth with low baseline of 2009, when Argentina's economy was hit by the global crisis