MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina’s November industrial production up 8.8%, says private index

Automobiles and steel lead in manufacturing

Argentina's industrial production in November continued to grow at record levels, with output jumping 8.8% on the year, according to the monthly index published by local think tank Fiel on Thursday.

The gains were led by a sharp rebound in manufacturing of automobiles, steel, non-metallic minerals and textiles, according to Fiel.

Fiel's index touched an all time high in September and is up 8.5% on the year for the first 11 months of 2010.

While showing a brisk expansion, Fiel's index is significantly lower than the government's November report on industrial production, which pointed to a 12.5% year-on-year gain.

According the national statistics institute, Indec, industry expanded 9.7% during the first 11 months of the year, compared to the same period in 2009. Capacity utilization was 83.4% last month, its highest level in a year, led by basic metals at 90.2%; textiles 90.1%; paper and cardboard 88.8%; petrochemicals 87.1%; and automobiles 84.2%.

Industrial production fell sharply in 2009 as demand slumped due to the international financial crisis, but has roared back so far this year on surging demand both at home and from top trade partner, Brazil.

Economists expect Argentina's industrial production to continue to show solid output gains in the following months due to the strong regional showing.