MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina accumulates 6,9% expansion.

Economic activity in Argentina last July showed an 8,8% expansion compared to a year ago and 1,8% over June 2003, according to the latest report from the Argentine National Statistics Office.

This means that the Argentine economy during the seven first months of 2003 has grown at an accumulated 6,9% rate compared to the same period in 2002.

"This is a surprising track record which will force us to redefine our initial estimates for the whole year", indicated economist Santiago Gallichio.

"The economy contrary to what was expected has not slowed down as forecasted, what we're seeing is a loss of steam but extremely gradual", said Mr. Gallichio who added that "after the tremendous fall of 2002, we're experiencing an inertial growth that will help recover lost ground".

However for Mr. Gallichio "inertial growth" is not enough, "medium term expectations, strong investment are needed to consolidate the expansion tendency".

José Luis Espert another Argentine economist regularly interviewed in the Argentine press had a similar attitude.

"The recovery is extraordinary, but the current government economic program is "lacking and rather mediocre".

"This year growth will reach 6%, in 2004 expansion will be closer to 4%", underlined Mr. Espert.

In New York British Hungarian born financer George Soros after a meeting with Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, praised the county's economic policy saying "he'd never seen in another country such a positive evolution as that experienced by Argentina in recent months".

Mr. Kirchner who later shared lunch with Nobel Prize winner economist John Stiglitz, an acid critic of IMF and World Bank policies, responded that Argentina's goal is to become a "serious and reliable country with clearly defined capitalist rules".

Earlier during a conference in the New York School University, Mr. Kirchner in a clear attempt to sweep aside all fears about his supposedly "statism" inclination underlined, "I'm the most liberal of all".