Argentine GDP declines by 3.1% in June from same time last year.

Economic activity in Argentina, according to a report by the pro-business Center for Economic Studies (EEC), fell by 3.1% in June compared to the same time of 2015; GDP for the first half of 2016 was down by 1.1%.

The decline is in contrast to the 2.4% growth recorded in 2015, before the effects of a 40% devaluation, massive utility and fare hikes, and other austerity policies decreed by the new, right-wing administration of President Mauricio Macri.

The Macri administration had discontinued monthly GDP updates the day after taking office on December 10, and their recent report estimating GDP to have grown by 0.5% annually in the first quarter has been widely dismissed. Macri's claim that private consumption grew by 1.1% and public consumption by 2.7% lacked credibility, local economists pointed out, given the doubling in inflation rates and sharp cuts to public works since he took office.

"This decline resulted from a combination of a recession in manufacturing (0.8%) and of significantly lower crop yields compared to last year, which led to a decline in agricultural output of 8.7%," Orlando Ferreres, the longtime head of the EEC, said. "The fall in real wages locally and the recession in Brazil contributed as well."

Ferreres' manufacturing activity estimates were more positive than those of the National Statistics Institute (Indec), which admitted a decline of 4.3% in May and 3% so far this year.

Ferrered, however, was optimistic going forward. He projected "a partial recovery, especially in the last quarter of the year" - although he admitted such a recovery would be conditioned by "contingencies." "The prospects there are still positive with regard to the late harvests barring unusually bad weather, while public and private construction may begin to recover," he added.

Construction, according to Indec, was down 12.9% in May, and 10.9% so far this year.

Ferreres also pointed to Macri's financial deregulation policies as a possible boost for the economy. "Money laundering could have a positive impact by offering greater financing options; but it will be too little to alter the current trend, such that growth 2016 will still in negative territory."

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